A Prince Named Rali
by WritersWayOfLife
Summary: A few years after the last Aladdin film. King Aladdin and queen Jasmine are now ruling Agrabah with promise and are teaching their son Rali to become a great prince. But when an ancient evil threatens them, Rali will have to rise and save his home.
1. Bedtime Stories

Hey! Since my Scrubs Fic went so well I've decided to do another future fic with original characters. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Aladdin, just my own OC's

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><p>Rali's POV<p>

I giggled as I curled up in bed, my faithful pet tiger cub Kanjer snuggled into my side. My mother, queen Jasmine, sat at the edge of my bed, my favourite story book in her hand as she waited for me to get settled.

"Are you ready Rali?" she asked. I nodded patting Kanjer's stripy head. His eyes opened, great amber orbs staring up at my mother. Mother smiled as she opened the book starting on the first of the very worn pages.

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><p><em>In the city of Agrabah, long ago, everything was ruled by one man. His name was Mafiar, father of the evil vizier Jafar, and he was a very cruel man. He would use his power of transformation to only take and never give back. <em>

_For years Mafiar had perfected his shape shifting powers that were born with him to seize the kingdom. When the time had been right he had stormed the kingdom in his most monstrous form, something only described as "the Beast." It couldn't be described anyway else because anyone who gets a glimpse is the one being killed. _

_The people did nothing to stop him. Instead they lived in fear of this man and his powers for many years. That is until one day, a man, over ten feat tall, completely covered in a dark blue cloak wandered his way into the dessert located city. People followed him through the dirty streets as he made his way slowly towards the palace._

_Word was sent ahead to Mafiar that a new comer to the city was on his way. He was thrilled at the idea at another soldier, especially one as huge as him. The blue robed man was welcomed into the throne room. He never spoke as he was given a tour of the castle. When he was brought to the throne room Mafiar was outraged when the stranger did not speak to him when he was asked for his name. _

"_I AM THE RULER OF THIS CITY AND YOU ANSWER WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!" he had shouted in his over sophisticated voice. The stranger merely chuckled at him._

"_You killed the rightful ruler of this city and I have come to set things right." was all he said in an oddly calm voice. Mafiar watched in bewilderment as at that moment, the stranger tore off his cloak with a clawed, metal hand. He staggered back at the sight before him. _

_The figures body was covered completely in a thick gold and black armour, that was connected tightly to each limb with only small lines separating them, exposing thin slivers of light brown scaly skin. The four arms that probed out the sides of its torso each held a curved sword in gigantic clawed fists. But that wasn't what had scared Mafiar into a stupor. It was in fact that where the mans head should have been, there was a long cobra's neck and head. _

_A forked tongue flickered out between the snake mans lips as he hissed warningly at the skinny man cowering in the corner. Two fangs at the front of its mouth, accompanied by small ones lining his gums were all curved and sharpened like daggers. _

_Mafiar drew in a shaky breath as the snake man positioned himself in front of him, swords drawn and swinging around in a waiting gesture. _

"_My name is Shaster and I have travelled far from the desserts that surround this city. When I have disposed of you this city shall be free once more." said the snake man. _

_Mafiar smirked at him and stood tall. Before Shaster's keen snake eyes he began to change. His size grew to one that matched Shaster's. His body grew hairy with thick clumps of black and light brown fur. An ugly wrinkled snout took the place of his nose and under it, two rows of knife sharp teeth overlapped his upper lip. Claws the size of daggers grew instantly from the paws that replaced his hands and feet. Muscles grew all over the oversized body and spikes projected upwards from the arched back and shoulders. _

_When he had finished his transformation he faced Shaster, snarls and snaps sounding from deep in his throat. Shaster simply gripped his swords tighter before he charged at the animalistic form. _

_The battle between Mafiar and Shaster was long and gruelling. Flesh was torn and blood spilled in the fight for freedom. Eventually Mafiar was overpowered and defeated. To serve as his punishment his body and spirit were separated. His body was destroyed while his spirit was enclosed into a jar and buried beneath the sands outside the city gates. Bloodied and battered from the fight, Shaster exited the palace to find a crowd of towns people gathered outside. _

_Apparently the fight had attracted a lot of attention. The crowd was silent, all its occupants waiting for Shaster to tell of what happened. This silence lasted until a little boy was shoved forward. A group at the front began to laugh but was silenced instantly by Shaster's harsh snake eyed glare. _

_The little boy was shaking in front of him as he stared up at the giant snake man. Shaster smiled warmly down at the little boy and used two of his hands to hoist the little boy into the air above his head, the other two let out three deafening claps to grab the attention of the crowd. The little boy screamed loudly and rolled into a tight ball but soon realised that nothing was happening. As he opened his eyes and uncurled his body a booming voice called out._

"_PEOPLE OF THE CITY! THE EVIL MAFIAR IS DEAD! AND I HAVE DECIDED THAT YOUR NEW LEADER, WITH THE HELP OF SOME TUTORS, WILL BE THIS YOUNG BOY! SULTAN…" he stopped and looked up at the boy expectantly. _

"_Danji." the little boy said timidly. _

"_SULTAN DANJI!" and with that Shaster set the little boy down and made his way towards the exit of the city. _

_It is said that when he walks by the sand storms fly higher and stronger then they ever have before. Legend tells that he walked north for four nights and five days, past a beautiful oasis until he reached a giant snake head made from polished rock. He buried himself in the sand under that rock and awaited for a time when he would be needed once again._

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><p>I stared up at mother, eyes wide. She smiled at me as she shut the book.<p>

"Rali, do you know why that story is so important to us?" I shook my head. "Because that young prince is your grandfather." my eyes widened. Mother smiled at me, leaning over and kissing my forehead.

"Get some sleep my baby." she whispered.

"Mother! I'm six, not a baby." I whined as I felt my eyes growing groggy. As I was slipping into sleep I spotted a shape in the doorway.

"Daddy?" I asked. I heard a chuckle as a tall man with shaggy black hair walked into the room. He approached mother and wrapped his arms around her waist. Mother giggled.

"Aladdin, not now." I hid under my covers, hating whenever my parents got all lovey dovey in front of me. I felt my blankets being pulled away from my head and soon was looking into my dads brown eyes.

"Go to sleep son." I grinned up at him.

"Okay daddy." I said before snuggling down into my covers and falling asleep.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it. I will be updating soon.<p>

Review!


	2. A Game Of Chase Gone Wrong

Even though I haven't received any reviews, here's chapter two. I promise it will get better as it goes along.

Enjoy!

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><p>Rali's POV<p>

Time passed quickly and, before I knew it, I had grown into a tall newly turned sixteen year old. My dark brown hair grew so that it covered my ears and spiked upwards along the top and to my fringe in a messy and untamed fashion. My eyes kept their signature, chocolate brown shade but had grown deeper with the knowledge that my tutors had taught me.

Kanjer, my faithful pet, had grown a lot too. His head now reached a little over my *cough*broad*cough chest instead of its previous place at my knees. The little cub that would lie on the bed with me at night was now so big that the whole bed wouldn't fit his gigantic stripped bulk. But he still remained the soft pussy cat.

For some reason mom and dad did not approve of Kanjer. They would constantly tell me that I was to old for pets, but I just ignored them. Mom had Rajah when she was around my age, why can't I have Kanjer?

Aside from the occasional chances I got to go outside the palace walls, Kanjer was the only good thing in my life. I did not care for the money and luxuries that I could receive with the snap of my fingers, those items did not satisfy me. The constant fussing had grown old quickly and soon I had resorted to buying and making my own food, just to get a chance at using my initiative.

My parents had kept me confined in the palace walls for all my life, reminding me daily-sometimes hourly if necessary-that the city streets were not safe enough for me to be on my own yet. I don't understand though, dad had told me the story of how he and mom met and fell in love hundreds of times, he made street life sound like fun.

Sometimes I would be allowed to accompany my parents on one of their outings to check on the well fair of the city, only to sneak away with Kanjer at the first chance before getting caught by one of them, or a soldier patrolling the city, and then dragged back to the palace. My parents never noticed my absence, I was just to good.

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><p>Meanwhile, out in the desert…<p>

It was another typical day on the dirty streets of the city. Market sellers were yelling at the shoppers who cheated them out of the full amount of their product, little children were trying to prove themselves to their friends by stealing apples from the fruit sellers, and performers were parading the streets showing off their talents and receiving money from the wealthy participants of the watching crowds.

But a young man, by the name of Milon, was not satisfied by the usual goings on in the city. Pulling his thin and patchy robes tighter around his tall and muscular body, ceiling away most of his skin from the suns heat and a nasty burn, he headed out to the gates of the city and to the well that was built outside the giant archway that opened out into the walls that surrounded it. The wall was built to shield the city from the sandstorms that would attack from all sides during their respective season.

Missing the cooling feeling of the giant, pale coloured stone archway that protected him from the suns rays, Milon approached the tiny well and lowered the bucket into the built up stone depths of the circular provider of fresh water.

When the bucket felt heavy enough he began to pull it back up to him, anxiously awaiting the chilled drink from the underwater cavern that had been discovered shortly after the city had been built. But this time the bucket felt heavier then when he normally went for a drink. When it finally reached the top he pulled it up and sat it on the stone rim of the well.

Peering into the bucket he gasped and backed up slightly when the swirling water glowed a sickly green colour. Gathering his corage Milon cautiously approached the bucket again. Now that the water had settled he could see that the glowing was coming from something inside a jar made of glass with a bronze lid. Slowly he reached in and placed his hands on each side of the jar and lifted it out. As soon as his hands left the water, a terrible burning sensation over came them. He screamed in pain and chucked the jar to one side before gently cradling his burnt fingers and palms against his chest.

The sound of breaking glass made him look away from his red hands and back towards the jar. It had shattered into two halves, shards of small glass dotted around it while a thick cloud of green smoke rose into the air. He expected the cloud to be taken by the winds that lifted the sands from the dunes and to be taken out across the desert. Instead the smoke darted towards him, flinging itself into his face.

His eyes stung and his mouth burned as the smoke forced its way down his throat. He screamed and flung himself to the sand, gripping it forcefully as the pain increased. His body began to go numb and his mind went blank as darkness clouded his vision.

The last thing that registered in his mind was a long cackle from a deep voice. When the laughter was over a voice echoed in his head. "Thank you for helping me with my return." The pain increased to the point where, after one final scream of pain, Milon's world went black as he collapsed into the sand.

An hour later, the body of Milon began to stir. The hands moved and managed to push the body to its knees. The hands then reached up and grasped at the cool stone rim of the well. Hauling itself up, the body raised the limp head over the bucket of water.

With a little effort, the eyes opened. The pale face stretched into a toothy smile at the sight of the successfully obtained body, symbolised by the colourless eyes.

"Mmmm." drawled a posh voice, different to the previous rough and deeper voice that had once belonged to Milon. "Not quite the body I wanted as a new host. But it will have to do." turning his head towards the city, Mafiar strode uneasily towards the city gates in his new bulky body.

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><p>Back at the palace…<p>

I charged down the high roofed halls of the palace as fast as my feet could carry me. Behind me, further down the long corridor, the tale-tell clinking of Kanjer's claws against the polished marble floors showed that he was slowly catching up. I could hear him growling playfully as he chased me tirelessly down the long halls lined with tapestries and ceramic pots on podiums that came of no use to my family at all. Seeing a door coming up on my right, I didn't think where it would lead before I made a desperate beeline for the wooden entry.

I barged through the doors and into a large room with a golden throne at the back. Like the rest of the palace, the ceiling was stupidly high. The throne at the back of the room was currently occupied. Sitting in it was the shocked and appalled form of king Aladdin as he watched me, his only son and heir to the throne, run whopping and yelling around his throne room, in front of the other councillors, while being chased by my large pet tiger. The council members all backed up in fear as Kanjer approached the group of strangers, sniffing at them in precaution. I smirked as they all whimpered in fear when he ran his massive tongue across his large teeth. One man, unaware of Kanjer's role in the palace and obviously without any common sense, ran forward and jumped onto the tigers broad back. He wrapped his legs around his middle and yanking on his neck to try and drag the large animal to the ground, unaware that he was gripping onto the thick dark blue collar I had made out of one of my formal robes.

Kanjer purred loudly as he took the mans actions as a form of affection. In one easy movement he stretched his legs out and rolled over onto his back, eagerly awaiting a scratch on his fluffy, stripe less stomach. Seeing that Kanjer was of no real threat, the council member sheepishly got up and walked back over to his fellow council members, his head ducked down in embarrassment as a few chuckles escaped from the other men.

Kanjer pushed himself to his four paws and trotted lazily over to me, who was currently rolling around on the floor, clutching my stomach and laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my cheeks.

Kanjer nudged me with his nose. I quickly stood up, trying and failing miserably to suppress the snickers that escaped me. Dad jumped up from his throne and walked over to us. Gripping my arm tightly, dad dragged me from the throne room and out into the hall while Kanjer followed obediently on behind. I watched my father pace up and down in front of me, one hand pressed against his forehead, the other on his hip. I took this time to take in his appearance. His formal dark red and golden silk robes were smooth and wrinkle free. The sown on patterns on the chest and back were shifting around as he paced anxiously. His tousled black hair was little like mine, his fringe barely reaching his eyes.

As my eyes traced over fathers dishevelled appearance, his voice broke through my thoughts and grabbed my attention.

"Rali, what did you think you were doing!" he asked me, his tone angry as he scolded me. "I Told you this morning that I had an important meeting with the council of elders! And in the middle of it you burst into the room with Kanjer chasing you while yelling like a deranged lunatic!" I rolled his eyes. Unlike my father, who always spoke with some of the longest words I had ever heard, I just replied in my usual relaxed tone.

"Chill, dad, it was fine. Me and Kanjer were just playing chase. And you have to admit, it was pretty funny when that guy tried to take Kanjer down, only to realize that Kanjer's just a big softy." I said. A humorous chuckle escaped me as I remembered the mans foolish actions. My hand reached up to Kanjer's head and fondly scratched behind the big cats ear, making him purr loudly and twitch one of his back feet rhythmically. I loved it when he did that.

Father did not join in with my laughter, his face growing grimmer as he spoke.

"And what if Kanjer had injured him?" I rolled my eyes again, adding an exasperated sigh.

"You know Kanjer would never do that unless he thought I was in trouble. You know how well I've trained him." I stated in a factual tone. Father shook his head and rubbed his chin. He turned his back to me, almost as if he was afraid of me.

"Rali, I think its time you made some changes to your attitude around here." he said flatly. I gaped, unsure of what to make of this odd statement.

Father continued.

"Your mother and I have been talking." at this he turned back around and fully addressed me, his voice now calm. "As you know we have left you be, not pressing you into to many of your classes and giving you free reign over the servants for a long time." I grunted while looking towards the floor, knowing that while I had always tried to ignore it, I had used the props that came with being a prince.

"But now that you are getting older you have to take up some responsibility for your role as prince." father finished.

"And what if I don't want to?" I snapped back harshly, glaring at father with angry brown eyes. Kanjer's ears flattened against his head as the voices began to rise. I put a reassuring hand on his head.

"It isn't a question of want Rali. Times and people are changing and I think there are some things that need to change, one being your choice of wardrobe." at this statement he gestured up and down my body with one wrinkled hand. I looked over myself quickly.

Like always I was wearing my long and baggy black trousers that started at my hips and fell down to my feet. They were dotted here and there with holes around the knees and tears along the bottom, curtsey of the rough and tumble me and Kanjer go through. Sowed onto the side of the left leg was a picture of a legless red dragon with a snaky tail. Its head starting at my thigh and the tail travelling down to my ankle. A small plume of fire was coming from its mouth that snaked a pattern around my waist.

At the moment I was shoeless, the frayed bottom of the trousers were just lightly covering the tops of my feet. Tied around my waist was a loop of chains in the form of a belt. I had found it hanging loosely from a broken shackle when I had gone exploring in the dungeons once. Wrapped around my torso was a thick piece of dark red cloth that covered most of my chest and back, only leaving a little of my tanned skin exposed around my shoulders and abdomen. The last piece of clothing that visibly covered my body was the short sleeved jacket that hung loosely over my slightly muscular shoulders. It was black in colour with a faint silver outline around the edges. Around my neck was a silver disk with a sword engraved on the front and a snake on the back. It had been given to me by my great grandfather and first sultan Danji.

Looking back at father, I asked. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"They are not what a ruler should wear. They are dirty, torn and un-dignifying. A ruler needs to take pride in his appearance so that he may separate himself from the other folk." dad answered, straightening out his own robes subconsciously. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You mean like how the people of the city dress. That's where I bought them, in the market." the point was clear but I could see father's resistance to accept it in the face he made. Why was he so ashamed of the streets? They held so much significance to his life. Instead he moved onto a subject that made my blood boil.

"And now that you are finally of age, you need to choose a suitable woman to become your queen." at this I laughed loudly and arrogantly at father.

"I don't need to choose anyone. I'm fine on my own and I don't need some useless girl following me everywhere. There are already plenty of them in the palace kitchen and one more would be to crowded." I surprised even myself with that last comment, one that sounded so foreign in my own mind. Instead of correcting myself on what I had said, I continued to speak. "If your going to force me into this, choose another prince." I finished defiantly, crossing my arms over my chest challengingly, knowing that-at my mother and fathers age- that was almost impossible. Father shook his head sadly at me.

"I had a feeling you'd say that. Unfortunately, if you do neglect your princely heritage then I'm afraid that the privilege of having a pet in the palace will be revoked. Although I personally see him as the main problem." my arms dropped to my sides as my once boiling blood dropped into a dreading subzero temperature at the thought of losing Kanjer.

I wrapped my arms around the tigers thick neck, who whined, as if sensing something was wrong with the natural order of the palace.

"You can't take him!" I yelled loudly. "He's the only fun in this place!" father stared straight into my brown eyes.

"Then what do you propose we do?" he asked seriously. My chest heaved with the rage that was slowly growing inside me.

"I'll stop playing with him as much and focus on my duties more." I said, trying to stop the quiver that threatened to betray my tough demeanour. Father merely nodded.

"That's right." my eyes widened at the realization that the decision had already been made. Giving me one last sorrowful look, father turned and headed back into the throne room, patting my shoulder as he went. With a final burst of impulsive anger, I screamed after him.

"You giving him to me is what keeps me from hating you! You take him away and I will never forgive you!" father hesitated at the door for a moment, my words cutting deep into his heart, before walking in and shutting it behind him.

When the door was shut I let the tear that had been threatening to expose itself, fall from my eyes and onto the floor. Gripping Kanjer's dark blue collar in my hand, I lead my pet out into the courtyard.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it! Review!<p> 


	3. Plans And Backfires

Here's the third chapter. Love your reviews Indigofrisbe.

Enjoy!

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><p>I walked through the castle gardens, choosing the spot were we always sat. I had my back to the palace, facing the white wall that kept me in my prison. That specific spot on the wall was littered with doodles that I had drawn to entertain myself. The servants had long given up washing them off when it only resulted in me drawing more of the tiny doodles. I pulled my knees up against my chest and my arms were lazily placed over them while my chin rested on my right arm. Kanjer sat with me, his tail swishing from side to side as he watched me struggle with my thoughts. For a few hours we just sat there. With each passing minute my hatred for my father and mother grew. The idea of having to stop being myself and be what people expected me to be turned my stomach into knots until I felt ill.<p>

The grass crunched under Kanjer's paws as he lay down beside me, resting his head between a gap in his massive forelegs. Looking over my shoulder at him, I knew I couldn't let him get taken away. I didn't want to imagine the kind of person that would buy him, or what they would do to him. The face of the local animal skinner pictured in my mind, smiling a toothy smile at me while holding onto a bag of gold coins in one hand and a rope with a loop at the end in the other. I shook my head to rid myself of the image before returning it to its previous position. While thinking I listened to the birds sing their carefree song from the tree above my head. I heard Kanjer admit a small purr and turned to see him staring intently at one bird. His big amber eyes followed its movements perfectly as it flittered from branch to branch. I found myself watching it as well. I smiled as another bird joined it. They rubbed their small beaks together in affection then flew off into the air together, singing merrily. My smile faded as I watched the partnered birds relish in their freedom together. I looked back at Kanjer, who's ears had dropped flat against his head when the birds had taken flight, and knew that-deep down-I wanted the same. To have someone to share my freedom with, someone (preferably female) who I could talk to.

Looking at the sullen look in my pets eyes, I knew that Kanjer, like myself, longed for a chance at even a day of freedom, a chance away at the weight of what his future held.

Standing up straight and facing the gate to the outside world, where the sun was just starting to set and turning the sky dark pink and blue with brush strokes of yellow, I made my decision. Taking Kanjer by his collar, I led us back into the palace and up through the long corridors and pointlessly tall doorways until we reached my room. Letting go of Kanjer, I watched as my best friend bounded across my ridiculously sized room, leaping the double bed (even though I preferred singles) in one bound and out onto the balcony. He placed his big front paws on the wall and propped himself up so that he was looking out over the wall and across the square or rectangular stone roofs of the small city. From where I was standing, I could see out the double doors to the balcony and all the way across the desert until the faint outline of trees bunched together popped up against the now starry sky.

Walking over to my bed, I flopped onto the soft covers over my mattress. Crawling up until my head met the pillows, I waited for sleep to overcome me. While I lay I heard Kanjer pad back into the room and position himself by my bedside.

As I flipped onto my back with my hands on my stomach, I knew that I wouldn't be able to go through with my plan to permanently run away with Kanjer to the oasis. As much as I wanted to, he knew that Kanjer and myself wouldn't have enough experience to survive on our own.

As thoughts of Kanjer being sold began to fill my mind, my eyes grew heavy until eventually they closed completely. For a second I felt happy as I slipped away from reality, only to have nightmares of Kanjer's fate fill my mind while I slept.

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><p>When me and Kanjer woke up that morning the first thing we did was go through our usual routine: Dress in usual clothes. Eat some breakfast alone then go out and do whatever we wanted, as long as we kept away from the palace tutors who were looking for me to start my morning lessons. While I was sneaking past one of the palace windows, I glanced outside quickly to spot a shape making its way towards the palace front doors. The bulk and clothes of the shape made me recognise him as Milon.<p>

'He must be here to trade again.' I thought as I watched him enter the palace. Just then an idea shot through my brain.

'If a towns person witnesses my father take Kanjer away from me then it might look really bad. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.' With my thoughts locked away in my mind, I turned and ran down the corridors until I stopped outside the giant double doors. I heard Kanjer's heavy paws thud against the floor as he followed me until his shaggy head appeared near my shoulder.

"Don't worry boy." I said down to him. "This is sure to work. If there's one thing my father doesn't want right now, it's a bad reputation." when I finished speaking I braced one of my hands on each door. With one massive heave the doors opened and I strode forward. Although, what I saw inside made me halt straight away.

The back of Milon faced me. His right hand was raised and in his grip was the throat of my father. Judging by his pale face and his rasping breaths, the hold on his neck was tight and choking him. Sitting beside him was mother. She was staring at the two men in shock with her hands over her mouth. From where I was standing, I could see her shaking in fear. My anger flared at the sight of my parents scared. Without thinking I charged forward and leaped onto Milon's back, gripping at his hair and wrenching it back as hard as I could. A scream emitted from Milon's mouth but I did not recognise the voice. Blood was pumping in my ears loudly as I fought to stay in control. A hairy hand reached up behind Milon's head and found my jacket collar. Gripping it tightly in his podgy fingers he yanked it forward until my grip was torn from his hair. A horrible ripping noise sounded as chunks of hair came away with my hands. As Milon held me out in front of him, my feet dangling in the air, I shook my hands to rid them of the oily black hairs.

Milon's eyes were red and brimming with tears, the only sign that he was in pain over the yellow toothed sneer that he was giving me.

"How dare you attack me boy. Even in this primal body." he spat in my face.

"What are you doing Milon?" I asked through my gasps for air. Milon chuckled mockingly at me.

"The person you knew as Milon is gone. I have taken his body as a vessel until I find a way to restore my old body." he answered in the strange voice.

"Who are you then?" I asked through a strained voice, confusion lacing each syllable.

"The great and powerful Mafiar. I thought you would have heard of me." he said in a spiteful tone. My world went into a stand still at the mention of the old tyrants name.

"How dare you come back to Agrabah! After your sons disgraceful actions against my wife's family and me, I had you banished from the city!" father yelled at him. I remembered those stories he told me. They had given me nightmares for ages. 'That's impossible. He's just a character from a story.'

The falling of my body from Mafiar's grip to the floor snapped me out of my daze. I rolled over onto my back long enough to see Mafiar lift his foot, only to scrunch my eyes shut in pain when it connected heavily with my stomach. All the wind was knocked out of me, leaving me gasping for air. A roar ripped through the air as Kanjer soared over my body and latched himself onto Milon's body, claws digging into his sides and teeth sinking into his shoulder. Instead of another scream, Mafiar aimed his left fist and struck the massive tiger in the chest. The blow was strong enough to knock the tiger from his body and down to the floor. I flinched for my beloved pet, hating to see him getting hurt.

As soon as Kanjer's back hit the floor he leapt into a crouching position in front of me, snarling and hissing at Mafiar and showing all of his gleaming white teeth that were lightly coated in blood. But before any of us could react, father leaped from the floor by his throne and grabbed both of Mafiar's wrists, positioning himself between me and Mafiar. Turning his head so that part of him faced me, he called quickly.

"Rali, take Kanjer and climb the high tower until you reach the top room. There should be a carpet in there. He will get you to safety while I hold off Mafiar. Go NOW!" his instructions were soon followed by some grunts of effort as he struggled to keep Mafiar at bay. I hesitated as fathers knees began to buckle, Mafiar and Milon's strength proving to strong for him.

"Rali, please go." mother cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. I nodded, grabbing Kanjer by the collar and quickly dragging him out the door and down the halls of the massive palace. It didn't take me long to locate the stairwell to the high tower, charging up it while dragging Kanjer with me. Roars and shrieks followed us. Mafiar had changed into the beast. I ran faster, my lungs burning as the top of the tower drew nearer.

Eventually I reached the top of the stairs, throwing myself through the door and shutting it behind Kanjer as he leaped through. I pulled the plank across the door, locking it. I didn't know how long that would hold against something like Mafiar. I searched for the carpet that was supposed to save us, not sure how a carpet could do this. I was halfway through searching the room when a snarl ripped through the air and a thump sounded from the door. I turned to see four black daggers had pierced the wood. I stepped towards the door, reaching out towards the pointed weapons. Just as I was about to touch them the daggers twitched, ripping at the wood in an attempt to free itself.

I could hear roars and snarls on the other side of the door and knew that it was Mafiar on the other side of the door. I went back to searching for the carpet, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach as the door continued to be slowly shredded away.

"I know you're in there boy! Come out and say hello!" growled a low voice that caused a shudder to go down my spine. When the door was ripped from its first set of hinges, I knew I was out of time. Grabbing an old looking purple cloth with gold lace on the sides, I ran to the window. I gulped at the long drop below to the ground.

"Ok, Kanjer, keep your teeth on my chain belt. it should hold." I instructed. He did as he was told. "OK, on three. One-" the door splintered as a hairy arm pushed its way through, clawing at the plank of wood across it. "THREE!" I shouted, leaping from the window. I opened the carpet above my head, hoping it could slow us down. No such luck, we kept falling. So this is it, I'm goanna die without ever experiencing the outside world. The carpet was flapping wildly in my hands, almost like it was trying to get free. Suddenly it was wrenched from my hands. I thought it would just drift away but instead it whipped around, like it was surprised. It then seemed to look at me, jump in surprise, then dive down towards us. It rocketed down towards me and Kanjer, settling under us and cushioning our fall. "Whoa! What the? Are you carpet?" I asked, gripping the edge of the carpet for dear life. I wasn't surprised when it didn't answer, it just sped off towards the desert. I looked behind me, back at my home. It still looked the same, but I couldn't recognise it with that monster on the throne. Whatever was going to happen, I would return and fight for my fathers kingdom.

I went back to facing the direction the carpet was flying, noting that we were heading towards the oasis. I never thought getting what I wanted most in the world would make me feel so bad.

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	4. Meeting Kayla

Here's Chapter four and thank you for the reviews.

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><p>The ride to the oasis was shorter than I had expected. Within half an hour the carpet was landing on the sands of the oasis. I rolled off and onto the floor, coughing as sand flew up from the ground. Kanjer jumped off next to me, mewing unsurely. I just lay there for a few minutes, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Eventually I sat up and looked around. Off to my left was a pool of crystal clear water, being fed by a small river that was coming from the jungle sized bunch of trees. I walked up to the bank, dropped to my knees and cupped my hands. Dipping them into the water, I brought them up to my mouth and took a long drink.<p>

I looked into the, now still, blue mirror and caught my reflection in the water. As I stared at my injury free body my anger came back in full at the thought of mother and father, now at the mercy of Mafiar. I swiped at my reflection in the water, causing it to spray up into my face. I wiped the water away from it but could still feel wetness on my cheeks. I knew what it was and just sat there as I finally let the tears of fear and frustration fall from my eyes. My parents, my home, my future kingdom were all in trouble and I didn't do a thing to stop it.

"What am I going to do Kanjer?" I cried. A deafening roar answered my question and I jumped in surprise. I turned around and watched a shape dart out of the trees and over to me. Without any time to react I was forcefully pushed by something on my chest and sent sprawling backwards into the water. It sloshed around my stomach as I struggled to sit upright, coughing and spluttering from the water that forced its way down my throat while at the same time the air was forced out.

When I finally managed to sit up I looked through the dripping strands of brown hair that blocked my vision as they pressed against my forehead, to see the figure of a girl with long, very dark brown hair-a colour I had been told was named ebony-that almost looked black as it fell in slightly curled loops down over her shoulders. She had intense green eyes that were staring at me with a mixture of warning and curiosity. Overall she was, in my opinion, seriously pretty in a wild sort of way. Her clothes only added to her beauty.

She was wearing a sleeveless dark red vest with intricate dark blue lines that looped and swirled around the torso, not that I was staring or anything. It was evident that the vest once had sleeves but had been ripped away, now only showing the frayed edges, one longer then the other so that it was just covering her slim shoulder. Long and loose dark grey trousers clung to her hips and flowed downwards, covering the tops of her bare feet that were stained with mud and bruises. Around her waist was tied a thick cloth of black material. The patches where her skin was uncovered showed it to be tan and covered in little scratches.

I stared up at her, confusion and fear churning around in my stomach. Water was running down my face and over the skin on the back of my neck, making me shiver at the cold tingle down my spine. The girl stared right into my wide brown eyes and I in turn stared back. To my surprise, after about five minutes of silent staring, the girl backed up and began walking back towards the jungle, not even throwing an apology as she left. Letting my impulses take over, I jumped up from the water and ran over to her, catching her arm and pulling her over to me. In a swift movement the girl twirled around while shaking my hand from her arm. She grabbed my arm with one hand while gripping my throat tightly in the other. I instantly froze.

Nothing moved for a while, even Kanjer had stopped swishing his tail from side to side and was remaining unusually quiet as he watched us, ready to pounce if the strange girl hurt me. Strangely enough, throughout the whole encounter, he had hardly made a move to help me while I was in the water. With my eyes darting around, I caught the angry and threatening look in the girls dark green eyes. They swirled with mixtures of different emotions and I found himself wanting to just stand there and try to name them as they hid in the vast depths of her soul. Instead with a cautious voice I asked.

"Did I do something wrong?" after a few long seconds, the girls grip on my throat slackened and she slowly brought her hand away. Her finger tips lingered on the front of my neck for a few moments, as if deciding if letting go was the right choice or not, and I shivered slightly at her light touch. When she finally did bring her hand away, she answered while staring me intently in the eyes.

"No. I'm just…not used to people touching me. Or people in general." her voice did not hold a quiver, like a normal apology. Instead her voice was slow, a small amount of caution was there, like she was giving away a big secret. Her other hand released my arm and I stepped away from her.

"Ok." I said. "I won't touch you. But could you at least tell me your name?"

"Kayla." she answered, her eyes focused on the jungle off to her right. I nodded in response. My first impression from her was that she wasn't afraid of eye contact. Taking in the way she was refusing to look at me now though, I wasn't so sure.

"Ok, Kayla. Nice name, mine's Rali by the way, now tell me where I am." I demanded. Kayla raised one eyebrow at me, obviously not liking being commanded.

"Well considering that we are standing in front of the only green and growing vegetation for hundreds of miles, I'm guessing an oasis." she answered. She then let out a snicker as she added. "I thought you would have known that. I watched you fly here from the city boundary myself." her comment was snarkey but I just rolled my eyes.

"Great, one last question. What are you doing here?" Kayla's eyes snapped back to mine and I was startled by the amount of ferocity they held within them.

"If you must know." she started venomously. "I live here alone. My parents left me here when I was ten and I grew up here." she finished, gesturing to the jungle beside them. "How old are you?" I asked.

"Sixteen. I thought you said you were done asking questions." Kayla answered.

"Yeah well its been a crazy day for me." I snapped at her. Kayla put her hands on her hips and stared at me.

"You're telling me." she answered shaking her head. "I wake up expecting my usual day and by early evening, some street kid with a tiger turns up at my oasis." street kid? At the mention of tiger, Kanjer got up and walked over to Kayla. She stood completely still and watched as he sniffed her, only to smile brightly when he rubbed his soft head against her flat stomach while purring affectionately.

"Cool pet." she commented while scratching his head.

I watched the two and when Kayla smiled, I noticed her eyes brightened with a warm spark. I couldn't help but smile as well as I watched her place both her hands on his thick neck and scratch at the striped fur. Kanjer let out a purr of approval at her actions, his back leg twitching with pleasure. As I watched them, I remembered something. Walking over to Kayla, I tapped her on the shoulder, being careful in case she jumped again. She flinched slightly before turning around, her eyes back to being the same stern way that I had seen before as she stared up at me. I was silent for a moment as I realised, with great childish enthusiasm, that I was at least four inches taller than her-her eyes in line with my mouth. I was brought out of my inner victory by a poke in the ribs from Kayla.

"Are you all right? You got this weird grin on your face." she asked in her same sceptical tone. I nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I do have another question." Kayla sighed but nodded, signalling for me to continue.

"Why did you stop attacking me earlier?" for the first time since Kayla had attacked me, I watched her smile while a faint tint of pink coloured her tanned cheeks.

"Well…" she started meekly. "I don't really know how to explain it… it was just the look in your eyes when you were completely helpless. They just looked innocent."

I smirked at her.

"That happens a lot. Its what got me out of most of the trouble I got into in the palace." Kayla's eyes widened.

"Palace?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in interest. I smirked at her again.

"So much for street kid huh? You are now in the presence of Prince Rali, heir to the throne of Agrabah." I said, puffing out my chest and standing taller. Kayla arched an eyebrow at me and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah well, that may work in the city with all your worker drones and loyal subjects, but out here, you're just as normal as me." at her words, despite the smugness of her tone that was meant to demean my status, my eyes brightened up even more and a large grin stretched across my face.

'She doesn't care! She's the first person who doesn't care!' I thought happily. Without thinking, I began to advance towards her, ready to embrace her in a grateful hug. Her eyes flickered, her gaze becoming empty as all colour left her eyes.

"Rali stop!" Kayla yelled, her eyes flickering to the ground between them. Without warning she lunged forward and tackled me backwards into the sand. I couldn't move, only stare up at her as she searched my eyes. A slight blush covered my cheeks as I realised that she was straddling my waist. For a moment neither of us moved, both staring at each other. Kayla, seeming to remember why she tackled me in the first place, shifting off of me before crawling back towards where I was previously standing. I sat up and watched her as she began to dig around in the sand.

"What was that?" I asked, referring to what had happened to her eyes. Kayla ignored me and continued to scrape the sand away, some of it hitting me in the face. A loud hissing noise sounded from the sand and Kayla grimaced as she pulled up a yellow and red spotted snake from the hole she had made in the sand. I instantly backed up, throwing my arms up in front of me in defensive. I hated snakes.

I watched as the snake thrashed and hissed loudly in Kayla's grip. Her hand was placed just behind its flat head, preventing it from turning its head and biting her hand while its tail slapped at her arm, leaving red marks on it in its furious struggle. She held it up to me, being careful to keep its fangs out of reach.

"That is what would have bitten you if I hadn't pushed you." she explained with a monotone voice.

"Is it poisonous?" I asked, eyeing the snake cautiously and shuddering when it made a snap at my nose. Kayla nodded then turned and tossed the snake into the jungle. It disappeared into the dense forest, hissing loudly as it slithered away. I watched where it had been, feeling slightly uneasy at the fact that it was now loose, then turned my head back to Kayla. She was looking at Kanjer who was currently scratching himself behind his ears.

"How did you know it was there?" he asked. Kayla stiffened.

"I heard it hissing." she answered, dusting off her hands. That's not possible, there was no sound.

"No you didn't." I said. Her green eyes hardened but I remained strong. "What happened to your eyes?" I demanded. Her hardened eyes turned into a fiery glare as she advanced on me.

"None of your business!" she said firmly. I grabbed her arms, surprising her into a stand still.

"Kayla, tell me." I said firmly. She was breathing hard, keeping her glare up.

"It was just a small look into your future. Seeing you gasping for breath as the poison entered your bloodstream was a bit of a downer so I decided to save you. I won't make that mistake again." she rushed out, throwing my arms off her. I gulped, noting not to get on her bad side.

"You looked into the future?" I asked. She nodded, looking at me like she wanted to kill me herself. "Cool." she sneered at me.

"Whatever, just don't make it a big deal out of it." I nodded, unsure why she seemed so ashamed of her…skill. There was a silence between us, me thinking about what to say next, knowing that a thank you was appropriate.

"Um… well thanks, I guess." I said, not looking at Kayla. She smirked at me.

"No problem, your majesty_._" another silence followed after her poor joke. I turned my head towards the sun and noticed that it was just above the horizon. A chill settled over the warmth of the bright orb and I noticed that both me and Kayla shivered. Kayla turned to me.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked. I looked back at her.

"Excuse me?" I asked, snapping out of my trance.

"Where are you going to stay for the night?" she asked, purposely making her voice lower and slower for me to understand. I wanted to roll my eyes at that moment, but knew she had a point.

"I don't know. Me and Kanjer have never left the palace before, let alone the city." without knowing I began to pace in front of her, like I had seen father do many a time before. I was snapped out of my plan making when her voice called out.

"If you want, Kanjer could stay with me." I looked towards her to see her stroking the tigers back, which arched as she did.

"What about me?" I asked, pointing to myself. Kayla rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the smile as she said.

"Fine, you can come too." I smiled at her and nodded, now understanding that she was messing with me. 'Great she dose have a sense of humour' I thought.

No words needed to be said as Kayla nodded back at me then turned and walked into the thick jungles, with me following on behind her while Kanjer took his place at my side.

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	5. Friendships Formed

Sorry it took a while but I will always try and update as soon as I could.

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><p>Kayla led me through the jungles at a swift pace, not even stopping to make sure I was keeping up. Many sounds were coming from all around as we walked briskly. But, surprisingly, Kayla seemed uninterested by all of this and just continued to move forwards through the trees. Every once in a while I would stop to examine a particularly interesting looking piece of the jungle. When I would run to catch back up with Kayla, I would be greeted with a light slap on the arm or face and a warning not to stop again. While I loved being treated like a normal person, I think Kayla was being a little demeaning.<p>

Soon enough Kayla stopped outside a large rock formation. Two slabs of gigantic rock had risen from the ground and had folded over each other, creating a slim stretch of rock to serve as a roof that slowly sloped downwards towards the ground. A spotted sheet, of what I guessed was animal skin, was hung in the slim gap between the stones. Along the side of one of the cave walls, little indents had been made in the form of foot and hand holds that reached all the way up to the roof. While I was busy looking over the amazing structure of the cave, Kayla walked forwards and squeezed through the gap behind the curtain.

"This is amazing." I whispered to myself, unaware that I was currently alone.

"The inside's not to bad either." came Kayla's voice from the cave. I snapped back to attention and took that as a cue to go in, squeezing through the gap and scraping my left shoulder in the process. Kanjer followed me and easily slipped in, twisting his large body with surprising flexibility. Once inside I took a good look around. The cave was slim and some provisions were stacked up against the tall walls in homemade boxes made from sticks and vines. At the back was a small fire that was positioned under a small gap in the stone roof, leaving the room smoke free but still lingering with the familiar choking smell that he could remember from the palace kitchen. Near the fire-but not close enough to burn-was a small pile of furs, leaves and blankets that I guessed served as Kayla's bed.

Kanjer lumbered over the fire and curled up beside it, wrapping his tail around his back paws and purring contently from the comforting heat. Kayla, who was standing one side off from the door, gestured towards the bed with one hand. I looked at her then at the bed, my eyebrows meshed together in a confusion. What she was offering suddenly dawned on me and I understood what the gesture meant. I was surprised that she was showing such courtesy when she had attacked me only a little over an hour ago. I smiled warmly at her, my face half illuminated by the fire. I walked over to Kanjer. I lay down on my back by the fire and rested my head on Kanjer's fuzzy tummy, determined not to be a burden. A defeated sigh filled the cave and I smirked as Kayla walked over to the bed and sat down with her back against the cave wall, her eyes focused on me. A tense silence, only broken by the crackle of the fire, filled the air as we stared at each other. It became a silent battle of persistence as each of us refused to be the one to look away. Once again I found himself counting the different emotions that were swimming around in Kayla's green eyes. Wariness, consideration and deep thought were the first I spotted, but one stood out plainly: doubt.

"Why do you doubt everything?" I asked, voicing my curiosity without a second thought. Kayla looked at me, a stunned expression on her face. I continued. "You said that when you looked into my eyes earlier you saw innocence. When I look in yours I see doubt, why?" I finished, repeating my earlier question. Surprisingly, Kayla chuckled.

"If you'd been cut off from any human contact for the past six years, would you trust a random stranger, who claims to be a prince, that just turns up out of nowhere into your life?" the question was obviously rhetorical, but I nodded anyway. Kayla raised an eyebrow.

"Obviously you've never seen the real world." she sighed. Again, I nodded, causing Kayla to raise both eyebrows in a questioning stare.

"Like you, I have also spent most of my life in a form of solitude." at that comment Kayla scoffed. I ignored her and continued. "My life, unlike yours, was planned out for me. I never got to do what _I_ wanted." Kayla remained quiet for a moment before commenting quietly.

"I couldn't imagine a life like that." I smiled at her gratefully, happy that she understood. "Being waited on hand and foot, being taught things others could only imagine that could be learned and getting to have amazing pets like Kanjer. Yeah must be a terrible life." she finished sarcastically, a slight venom in her voice. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"And yours is just as bad?" I countered, sitting up so that I was eye level with her. I moved forward slightly so that I was in her personnel space, our noses were barely an inch apart. "What with all the freedom to do whatever you want, no one telling you what to do and your very own jungle to explore? You're right, your life sounds awful." when I had finished I leaned back against Kanjer and crossed my arms over my chest. My voice held about as much sarcasm as Kayla's.

Both of us were silent as we stared at each other through narrowed eyes, chocolate brown against emerald green. A new tension grew between us, neither one willing to be the one to back down first. Still feeling my anger from the argument burn within me, I decided to break the silence.

"How did someone like _you _deserve to get to live a life like this? Your parents were to nice." I spat the question at her. My eyes flashed challengingly, daring her to answer. It was then that the ever present doubt in Kayla's eyes was replaced by pure rage, making me back up slightly in fear. I must have touched a serious nerve to bring out that kind of anger in her, but it was to late to take back my comment now. My eyes to softened but I was determined not to back down.

Kayla was the one to break the eye contact. Standing up, she gave me one last hate filled glare before storming out of the cave and into the darkened jungle. As soon as she was gone, I let out the breath that I had been holding since the start of the argument. I didn't even think to follow her, knowing that I would just get lost in the vast jungles. Judging by the look that Kayla had given me though, I'm pretty sure that was what she wanted. Instead I lay down with my head against Kanjer's stomach and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's events. I dreamed of the great Shaster that night.

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><p>No Ones POV<p>

By the time Kayla re-entered the cave, Rali was asleep. His head was propped up against Kanjer's yellow furred stomach. He was clutching one of the sleeping tigers paws in his hand lightly. Despite the affectionate scene in front of her, Kayla sneered at the two before going over to her bed and lying down. Taking one last look at them, Kayla whispered quietly to herself

"Stupid Prince." before she let her eyes fall closed and for sleep to take her.

Hours passed as the two slept. Morning jungle birds began to call through the tress. Some shrieked at amazingly high pitches and others droned their calls out across the jungle floor. These caws and songs wove their way through the stone walls and into Rali's ears, starting him awake and into a sitting position.

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><p>Rali's POV<p>

I rubbed my face, letting out a groan as the previous days events all came rushing back to me, down to the very last detail of mother and fathers faces as I ran from the room and from my home. A shifting noise made me turn around. I watched as Kayla rolled over on her bed so that she was facing me, her mouth slightly open while she inhaled and exhaled evenly. Regardless of the hasty and quick nature she had expressed earlier, I couldn't help but smile at her peaceful expression. The argument that we had shared earlier popped back into my mind as I watched her for a few more minutes. The anger in her eyes had haunted me in my sleep, making my mind wonder over and over what I had said that upset her like that.

The hours passed and all I did was sit and think about what I had said. Kayla was obviously upset by it, but was just to proud to admit it. Then it dawned on me. I said her parents were too nice to leave her in such a wonderful place. I had always been with my parents and would be lying if I said I wasn't a little sick of them. Kayla had been alone for six years before I stumbled into her life, reminding her of the love that was taken from her. I didn't care if the argument was my or her fault, I had to be the one to apologise. Soon Kanjer woke, stretching his legs out and kicking one of the stacks of boxes behind him in doing so. As they crashed to the ground I leapt to my feet, earning a startled growl to escape Kanjer. Making a dive for the boxes, I just managed to catch the last box before it joined the others on the floor. Through gritted teeth I hissed at Kanjer.

"Be quiet Kanjer! We don't want to upset Kayla anymore than she already is." Kanjer seemed to understand, bowing his head and sitting down. I shook my head at his clumsy nature before turning my attention back to the boxes on the floor and the one in my hands. Some of them were smashed beyond repair, their contents spilled all over the floor, while others just needed the vine that held them together to be tightened.

I groaned, knowing I'd have to fix them if I wanted Kayla to accept my apology. Settling myself on the floor, I began to stack the unbroken boxes back into the pile they were before. Once that was finished I began to gather the items that had once been stored in the boxes that had broken. When finished, I stood up and exited the cave, now focused on gathering the right pieces of wood to re-construct the broken box. Getting the wood for the boxes was the easy part, the grey light of dawn lit the way as I walked. The hard part, once I had found all the wood and vines that I needed, was finding my way back to the cave. For what felt like an hour I stumbled around the jungle in the hopes to find the cave. The rough bark from the wood scratched at my skin as they rattled in my arms. I wish I'd brought Kanjer, his sense of smell could have guided us through the forest. More creatures seemed to be waking up as the sun rose in the sky. Growls, tweets and the stamp of hooves could be heard from all around as I followed a set of human looking prints, hoping they were mine.

"Where are you going?" the voice that had came out of nowhere surprised me into dropping all my sticks to the ground. While I tried to calm the rapid pace my heart had suddenly taken up, I turned to where the voice had come from. The path behind me was empty.

"W-who's there?" I called, gripping one of the sharpest sticks tighter in my hands.

"I am, and I asked first, were are you going?" came the voice again, this time more firm and vaguely familiar. My half asleep brain clicked into action as I remembered the only other human inhabitant of the oasis.

"Kayla, wherever you are, stop messing around!" I called into the trees. A light snicker could be heard, bouncing off the trees, as a shape shimmied down one of them. When Kayla was back on the ground she walked over to me and stood in front of me. There was another silence between us as I bent down to pick up the rest of the fallen sticks. Kayla just stood there and watched me, not even going to attempt to offer any help. When I straightened up, she turned on her heel and walked back through the jungle. I followed her silently. Soon the reached her cave, where Kanjer was waiting for us. As usual his tail was swishing from side to side. Kayla pushed past him and into the cave. I stood awkwardly outside, not knowing wherever to follow her or not.

"Are you comin' in or not?" came Kayla's voice through the drape. I quickly entered after her.

For the rest of the morning I fixed the boxes that I had broken. All the while, Kayla watched me, her green eyes following each of my movements. When the boxes had been fixed, I stood up, stretching out my stiff back. Kayla turned her back to me, looking more interested in watching Kanjer as he licked one of his giant paws.

"Which way is north?" I asked her, watching her body stiffen as I broke the silence. Slowly she turned around, her eyes fixed icily on me.

"Past the back of the cave and into the desert." she answered before adding. "Why do you want to know?" as I made my way to the exit I answered over my shoulder.

"To find the great Shaster. I'm hoping he'll be able to help me." and with that I left the cave. It took Kayla a few seconds before she was up and out after me. She caught up to me as I was turning the corner of the cave. She grabbed my arm and forced me to a stop.

"You're talking about the snake man who won back Agrabah." she said. I nodded. "But he's just a myth." I looked at her face for a minute, studying each of her features carefully. Should I tell her why I needed her help? Hoped that Shaster was real.

'_Maybe she can help me.' _I thought hopefully to myself. But as the argument replayed itself in my mind, I doubted she would want to help me. But I wanted her to come with me. I was sure she would know the dessert well enough to guide me to a giant snake head. I also had to admit I liked the company of the hot tempered pretty girl in front of me.

Slowly I let my eyes rest on hers. They were full of curiosity, but still clouded by the doubt that had taken refuge in her soul.

"I need to find him. He must be real if Mafiar is." my voice was shaky as the thought of my parents, of how scared they must be still locked in his clutches. Kayla's hand softened on my arm but she did not relinquish contact, a gesture I was grateful for.

"How do you know Mafiar is real?" she asked hesitantly, her voice unsure and her eyes afraid. As my eyes watered I answered her.

"Because he took over the body of a merchant and got into the palace. He is now holding my parents captive and I don't know how I'm going to save them." Kayla's eyes softened slightly but still looked confused.

"And you think that if you ask him, Shaster will help rescue them?"

"He has to." I answered back.

"Why?" Kayla answered. My blurred eyes focused in on hers. They looked confused and (for once) concerned. I knew Kayla had no parents in the oasis, I didn't expect her to understand but I said it anyway, the thing that had been weighing down on my heart since I said it.

"Because the last thing I said to my dad was that I hated him." Kayla lowered her eyes from mine. In a quiet and timid voice she said.

"I still don't understand." I shook my head slightly, not surprised by her answer. Instead I began to walk again with Kayla following behind me.

"But if you go out into the desert alone you could get lost." she said to my back.

"That's a risk I have to take." I answered firmly. I didn't want to argue about this.

"What about Kanjer. If you die out there how will he find his way back?" I stopped and turned around.

"Could you keep him here?" I asked, concerned for my lovable pet. Kayla's eyes widened.

"You'd trust me with him?" she asked. I nodded. Kayla set her jaw, her mouth forming a thin line.

"I can't take that responsibility." she said. My heart sank. "But." she continued. "I can make sure you don't die out there in the desert." I stared at her as I went over what she had said.

'You idiot. She's offering to come with you. You didn't have to ask.' my mind screamed at me. A slow smile stretched across my face.

"Really?" I asked to which Kayla nodded. Disregarding her rule about touching, I stepped forward and wrapped a confused looking Kayla in my warm embrace.

"Thank you." I whispered in her ear. Kayla was stiff at first but slowly relaxed into my hold, even wrapping her arms around my upper back.

When they parted I looked at her seriously. "I'm sorry about what I said." Kayla nodded, her chin resting on my shoulder.

"Don't worry. Stay here and I'll be back in a second." Before I could say another word, Kayla turned and dashed back into the forest, back to her cave.

She returned a minute later, Kanjer by her side and a small satchel at her hip. Sticks were pointing out of it.

"What's in there?" I asked.

"Enough food and water for a week for both of us and some fire wood and flints." she answered, re-adjusting the strap over her shoulder.

"Do you want me to carry it?" I asked, trying to be more helpful. To my surprise, Kayla flashed me a smile and said.

"No thanks I can carry it." and with that she strode out of the oasis. I grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. "What?" she asked. I grinned.

"I can think of a better way to travel." I said before bringing my fingers to my mouth and whistling sharply. In less then a few seconds the purple carpet flew over from the other side of the oasis from where we left him yesterday. Kayla backed up in fear as the carpet circled around her.

"What is that thing?" she all but shrieked. I smirked, coming forwards to stroke the carpet.

"This is carpet. He belonged to my dad. He can fly us to where the snake head should be so we don't have to stop at night to rest. We should get there in four days on this guy." I said proudly. Kayla still looked unsure.

"Is it safe?" she asked and I nodded. This seemed to reassure her because she stepped up to the carpet. I stepped up behind her and placed my hands on her waist. She instantly stiffened but didn't push my hands away. She did look over her shoulder at me, her eyes questioning. I just gave her one of my charming smiles before I lifted her onto the carpet. She settled near the front, giving me space to climb up and sit beside her. Kanjer was the last one up, laying down behind us. "Ok prince," Kayla sighed, gripping the carpet. "Lets go." I grinned before taking the front of carpet and directing him to the north, flying out towards the ever lasting desert. "I hope you know what you're doing." Kayla mumbled beside me.

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	6. Carpet Rides And Snake Bites

Sorry my updates are taking so long, I've just been swamped with collage work. Will be updating again on both these stories soon.

Enjoy!

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><p>Rali's POV<p>

The sun was hot on my neck as I sat on carpet. I had already set a course north and was now just waiting. I found out quickly that there wasn't much to do on the carpet besides talk, something Kayla wasn't very fond of. She just sat there, either staring straight ahead or at the sand below. We were high in the sky, the ground below barely casting our shadow. We could still seethe sand though, dunes rising and falling like waves. This kind of freedom was amazing. Kanjer shifted behind us, groaning while trying to stretch out his long legs.

"We need to stop." Kayla ordered in her stern voice. I looked at her.

"Why? If we keep this up we should reach the snake statue in two days." Kayla glared pointedly at me.

"We will be stopping at night. Kanjer needs to stretch and carpet will need to rest. Plus we don't know if there will be sandstorms." she said. I grimaced and gripped the front of carpet, driving it downwards in a steep arc. Kayla didn't scream, but she did go completely white and grip my arm. I smirked as carpet landed softly over the ground.

"You can let go now." I said smugly as we hovered over the ground. Kayla's eyes snapped open and she glared at me, jumping from carpet and onto the ground. She instantly set to work, clearing the area before working on building a camp fire. Kanjer and I got down from the carpet and watched her. When she started to rub two sticks together, Kanjer's tail started to swish.

I laughed as he crawled closer to her, batting one of his giant paws at the sticks. Kayla carried on with the fire, only to have Kanjer steal one of her sticks and run off with it, stopping a few feat away so she could chase him. I was laughing quite hard now, clutching my stomach. Kayla got up and stomped over to me.

"This isn't funny! It will be dark soon and we need a fire to ward off any animals and to keep warm." she said firmly. I looked up at the sky. The sun was just about to sink below a high dune, the last of its rays quickly shrinking. Taking off my medallion, I crouched low by the fire. As I held the medallion at a certain angle, light was cast onto the pile of sticks Kayla had set up. Kayla came to crouch beside me.

"Well? The suns leaving and nothing's happening." she said.

"Just give it time." I mumbled, a whiff of burning wood catching in my nose.

"Time is something we don't have!" Kayla snapped, just as flames exploded onto the wood, engulfing the sticks in orange and yellow cloaks of heat. I looked over at Kayla smugly, who looked a little mad. "Well done." she grumbled before returning to her bag.

After she had given me and Kanjer some food and water, we all sat around the camp fire in silence. I was surprised that Kayla was so comfortable out here in the desert. She acted like it was her second home. I guess she was really. Having grown up with no authority to limit her, she could feel at home anywhere she went. I wished I could have that kind of freedom. The sun had set completely now, our fire being the only source of light…and heat. I shivered in the cold night air, cuddling closer to Kanjer. I relished in the tigers body heat, shifting as close as I could to his furry stomach. I opened my eyes to see Kayla looking at us, longing in her eyes as she hugged her arms. I smiled at her and opened my arms.

"Plenty of warmth over here." I said. She glared at me.

"I'm fine." she grumbled, laying down on her side and staring at the fire. I sighed. Why couldn't this girl just trust me? She had no reason not to. Since she refused to come over and accept my offer I stood up and walked over to her, shrugging off my jacket. When I reached her, I saw her looking up at me expectantly. I just gave her a half smile before draping the jacket over he shoulders and walking away before she could protest. Now both of us are only going to be slightly warm together. As I slumped back against Kanjer's stomach I noticed Kayla stand up, my jacket hanging loosely over her shoulders. This girl just doesn't quit. She stood in front of me, staring down at me, before she lowered herself down next to me, snuggling up against me while leaning back against Kanjer.

I let my arm drape around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She wouldn't look at me, her body resting against my chest but facing the other way.

"Nice night." I said lamely, attempting a conversation. Kayla didn't answer, only sighed and tried to move away. I held her tightly. "No, it's cold out here and we're goanna need all the heat we can get. Plus your warm." I said, smiling cheekily at her. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Are you attempting to court me?" she asked bluntly. A blush instantly grew on my face and I looked away.

"N-no. I just met you yesterday and w-we hardly know each other." I mumbled. Kayla gripped my face and pulled it back towards her. My eyes were wide as I stared at her but she just looked back at me curiously. Before I knew what was happening she crushed her mouth to mine. I was stunned for a second but slowly started to respond, drawing her closer. Before anything could happen she pulled away and stared at me again. I waited for something, anything to happen.

"Physical appearance acceptable but there is no emotional attachment." she said simply, turning back into our earlier position.

"What does that mean?" I asked, tapping her shoulder.

"It means there is no chance of this," she said, gesturing between us. "Of happening." she then closed her eyes. I just stared at her, watching her fall asleep. She could have just said so instead of kissing me then shooting me down. I sighed as I closed my eyes. Shame she didn't like me, she's a good kisser. Soon I fell asleep, but not before noticing Kayla shift closer to me with a small smile on her face.

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><p>"We will need to stay on carpet tonight." Kayla said as we readying ourselves for another day of flying. I stared at her.<p>

"Why?" if we didn't stop then we wouldn't be able to have a fire, we'd freeze.

"Because tonight is migration night for the desert animals to move south. If we're caught on the ground who knows what animal might attack us, regardless of a fire." she explained. That made sense but I couldn't make carpet fly for a full night.

"We'll see what carpet can do." I said, climbing up onto carpet and offering Kayla my hand. She took it and climbed up, using Kanjer's collar as another hand hold. Once she was up we were off. We flew for the whole day, eating at lunch and talking. I managed to get Kayla to talk about her life at the oasis. She was reluctant at first, barely saying more then three words. But once I irritated her enough she decided to humour me.

As the day was drawing to a close, Kayla was laughing at one of my stories.

"The guy seriously tried to wrestle Kanjer, only for him to roll over?" she asked through her laughter. I nodded.

"Yeah." I felt my smile slip away as I remembered what else happened that day. "That was the day I told my dad I hated him." I mumbled sadly. I could feel Kayla look at me unsurely.

"Rali, I've already tried to understand what it's like for you to want to rescue your parents and I just couldn't comprehend that level of compassion." she said sadly. "Maybe I never will." she said, looking away. I felt my heart go out to the emotionally damaged girl beside me. She didn't like being the way she is. Sure I could tell she loved her freedom but to not be able to trust and love? I couldn't imagine a worse way to live. Carefully I took her hand in mine. Her head snapped up to look at me, a warning glare covering her face.

"I think you have all the potential to learn how to love someone. You just have to find the right person." I said sincerely. Kayla looked at me with her usual small amount of doubt. "I mean it Kayla. Please try and trust me." I begged softly. Kayla raised her eyebrow.

"A prince that begs?" she asked but I kept my eyes on hers. They softened when she realised I was being serious. "Thank you Rali." she said softly, smiling at me. I smiled back and turned my eyes back on the stars. I felt something on my shoulder and looked down to see Kayla resting her head on it.

"Already? That was quicker then I thought." I said with a grin. Kayla glared playfully at me before looking out ahead.

"Emotional connection growing." she mumbled with a blush on her cheeks. I grinned, drawing her closer to my body as the night chill started to settle in.

"I'll take that as we're friends now." I said. I felt Kayla giggle beside me. A few hours passed and the night only got colder. How could it be so hot during the day and so cold during the night? I looked down at Kayla, who was asleep on my shoulder, shivering from the wind while trying to gain some more heat from me and Kanjer. We couldn't go on like this, I couldn't sleep I was so cold. I didn't care what Kayla said about the animals, I'm sure they'd stay away from a fire and a tiger and carpet won't be able to carry on like this.

Taking the front in my hands, I gently directed him down, hoping not to wake Kayla. If all went well we could be up again without her knowing I stopped carpet. No such luck. As soon as carpet started to dip, Kayla's eyes snapped open and she leaped up from her position against Kanjer.

"What are you doing!" she yelled, trying to grab my arms and stop me.

"Landing carpet, he can't carry on and we could die from the cold!" I answered back, pushing her away. She continued to fight with me for control, resulting in carpet dipping and arcing wildly towards a particularly high dune. Kayla was screaming at me to stop but I didn't listen and we crashed right into it. I was sent flying from the dune, rolling down all the way down to the bottom in a banged up, winded heap. Kayla and Kanjer came rolling after me. Kayla landed next to me on her back, coughing and covered in sand. We just lay there for a few minutes, trying to wrap our heads around what just happened. Kanjer was the first one up, shaking the sand from his hefty striped body. His groans seemed to snap Kayla out of her dazed state. She sat up, her gaze fiery as she glared at me, climbing on top of me and pinning me down.

"I told you that we had to keep flying through the night. Who knows what could attack us!" she yelled at me. I glared at her and pushed her off, sitting up to face her.

"Carpet couldn't carry on and you were freezing beside me. We need to stop and make a fire." I argued back.

"And how do you propose we make a fire without the sun? because I'm not going to help you!" she screamed. I paused, not sure what to do. She had me there.

"I'll think of something!" I yelled before taking some of the wood from her pack. She responded by throwing it at me.

"Do what you want see what I care! Don't expect me to ever trust you again!" she yelled. Then I did something very stupid.

"Like I give a crap about you and your trust issues!" her face changed as I said that. The rage was replaced by hurt and the anger in me was replaced by remorse. "Kayla…I'm sorry." I tried but she wouldn't listen, choosing instead to throw my jacket onto the sand before turning and walking away until she found a good spot and sat down, getting comfy before laying down. "Shit." I mumbled. I knew Kayla wouldn't want to talk to me now. "Kanjer, could you go over and keep her warm?" I asked my dear friend. He purred before walking over to Kayla and draping his large body onto the sand next to her. I set to work on the fore, knowing I could die out here from the cold. I set up a camp fire then did what Kayla tried yesterday. After a full thirty minutes of vigorously rubbing two sticks together, smoke started to waft upwards. I blew on the smoke, having seen some merchants in the city do it before. Sure enough a fire started to blaze. I stood up, my hands sore and blistering. I looked back over at Kayla, noting that Kanjer was pawing at her. She wasn't responding so maybe she was asleep. I could feel my stomach twisting uneasily so I got up and walked over to her.

"Kayla? Do you want to come and sit by the fire?" I asked gently. When she didn't even turn to glare at me, the twisting in my stomach got worse. I came to crouch beside her and shook her shoulder. She didn't respond but her skin was warm, hot even. "Kayla are you alright?" I asked worriedly. She still didn't respond so I rolled her over. I felt my breath catch in my throat. Her face was deathly pale and her eyes were closed. She was panting heavily and sweat was pouring down her forehead. I noticed two small puncture marks on her neck, barely the size of a pinprick. "Kayla! What happened?" I demanded, picking her up and walking her over to the fire.

"S-spotted s-s-snake." she gasped out, obviously in pain. Spotted snake? Snake? I felt myself start to panic and I looked around, hoping it was gone. I quickly placed her beside the fire and wrapped her up in my jacket.

"What do I do?" I asked her. I knew she shouldn't be talking but I had to save her. She was my only human friend…I needed her.

"S-suck out…the p-poison." she said, her voice hoarse as she struggled to control her breathing. I felt my face go red as I lowered my mouth to her neck. Carefully I latched onto the spot where she was bitten and sucked gently. Kayla moaned from the pain (I hope) and lurched violently. I forcefully held her down I tasted something bitter wash into my mouth and instantly spat it out onto the sand. I repeated this action until I stopped tasting the bitter liquid in Kayla's blood. I quickly ripped off one of the patches on my trousers and carefully bandaged it around her neck, making sure it was tight on the wound but not tight enough to choke her. I guess she was right when she said all those lessons came in handy.

I quickly grabbed the canteen from her pack and gently washed her forehead and gave her some water. She didn't struggle when I took care of her, just staring at me with wide eyes. When I finished my caretaking I sat back, letting her use my lap as a pillow while I gently ran my fingers through her hair. I had found out while I was washing her forehead that she liked having her hair stroked. Her eyes were closed but I knew she wasn't asleep.

"I'm sorry Rali." she said softly, her voice smooth again but still filled with exhaustion.

"For what?" I asked, lightly tracing a faded scar that curved down from her hairline.

"For not trusting you. If I had stayed with you and not gone off in a huff then I would have never been bitten by the snake." I smiled warmly at her, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"I could never be mad at you for your choices. And I know how hard it is for you to trust people, not having been near one in six years." I said softly, shifting so that I was lying down as well. I could feel my eyes getting heavier. Just as I was falling asleep I heard Kayla mumble to herself.

"Emotional connection accepted and exceeded." what the heck does that mean? I'll ask her tomorrow.

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><p>There it is. I will update again soon. Let me feel the love through you wonderful Reviews!<p> 


	7. Quicksand And Welcomed Feelings

Sorry my updates are taking so long. I'm getting writers blocked plus my collage work.

Enjoy!

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><p>Rali's POV<p>

I am loving our new sleeping arrangements. This morning I woke up to Kayla cuddling me quite intimately. She had wormed her way between my legs, her head resting on my chest and her arm wrapped around my shoulders. I will admit she wasn't alone in this, I had my arms around her waist tightly. I smiled down at Kayla as she slept. The red marks in her neck had gone down, now only two small pale holes. I gently let my fingers brush over the cuts, committing the new edition to her body to my memory. Kayla shifted against me before her eyes opened softly and a smile spread across her face. I smiled back.

"Morning Sunshine." I joked, my voice low. She rolled her eyes and sat up, shaking the sand from her hair. I followed her example, running my hands through my short brown tufts. I sneezed as some sand got up my nose and Kayla giggled.

"Come on, we should get moving. Are carpet and Kanjer awake?" she said, looking over my shoulder. I turned as well to see Kanjer up and stretching, but carpet being barely able to lift himself from the ground. I got up and quickly got up and rushed over to him, holding him gently.

"Carpet what's wrong?" I asked. Kayla came to stand beside me. She poked at him gently and he shifted.

"Maybe he's tired?" she offered as carpet curled away from her hand. I nodded.

"Yeah, he flew for to long yesterday and now he can barely flap his tassels." I determined , looking at Kayla. She narrowed her eyes at me before getting up and walking north.

"Come on! We don't have time to sit around!" she shouted behind her. I thought about going after her but, knowing Kayla, she wouldn't listen until something bad happened. I sighed and draped carpet over Kanjer's broad back.

"You get a good rest carpet. We're goanna need you when you get your strength back." I said before I followed Kayla with Kanjer beside me.

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><p>We walked for hours, the sand burning at the soles of my bare feet. Kanjer was ahead of me, like a joiner between me and Kayla. This girl and her mood swings, I couldn't keep up. I don't care how hot she is, no girl is worth this. Then again, she was the first person who really understood me, got under my skin, made me smile. I hadn't realised I had stopped until I almost stumbled forwards, my legs not coming with me. I looked down to see my feet sinking below the surface of the sand, my skin feeling wet and sticky. The more I pulled, the more I sunk. What was happening? I looked up to see Kayla and Kanjer a few metres ahead of me and still moving. Why weren't they sinking? I noticed that they were more eastward then I was, closer to the sun. I must just be on the edge.<p>

"KAYLA!" I shouted as loud as I could, waving my arms in the air. She was so far away that she was just a shape now, I couldn't distinguish anything on her body. "KAYLA!" I shouted again, praying she'd hear me. The shape stopped and turned to me. It started to come towards me, Kanjer following on behind her.

When she reached me she was about to come to stand in front of me but I stopped her.

"Don't come any closer! I don't know why, but I'm stuck and sinking. You gotta get me out!" I yelled. Kayla stared at me angrily.

"I don't know what's more stupid; the fact that you're stuck in quicksand or that you don't know that it's called quicksand!" she yelled before reaching for my hands. I stretched for her reach, but we fell short by a few inches. "I can't reach you!" she yelled. I was up to my knees now and still sinking fast. Kayla looked lost, searching for anything that could help. She spotted carpet on Kanjer's back and grabbed him. "Carpet I'm really sorry but you need to fly me up close to Rali so we can pull him free or else he will die." she said quickly. Carpet seemed to do a small nod before he groggily flapped up from Kanjer's back. Kayla hopped on and he flew her close enough for her to grab my hands. "Ok carpet now lift us up, now!" she demanded. Carpet obliged and I was roughly yanked upwards as him and Kayla shot upwards into the air. My legs started to hurt as I was being pulled from the sand. I could feel my knees come free, shivering at the sucking and squelching feeling. "Almost there!" Kayla groaned, before my hands slipped from hers. I rocketed back into the sand, sinking right up to my chest, only one arm still free.

"Rali!" Kayla screamed, grabbing onto my hand and starting to pull again. She kept pulling, sweat coating her forehead and hands. Soon I was down to having just my left leg still under the sand. Kayla was putting every ounce of strength she had into it, pulling as hard as she could.

"That's it Kayla, I'm almost fre-" I stopped speaking as a pop sounded from under me and a pain so intense fired through my leg, bringing a scream so course it burned my throat to take over any coherent words. Kayla stopped pulling, staring at me fearfully.

"Rali what happened?" she asked, effort straining her voice.

"K-keep pulling, I'm fine." I chocked out. She looked unsure but kept pulling. I grit my teeth against the pain shooting through my leg, feeling more and more with each tug. With the last ounce of strength I think Kayla had left she pulled and I was freed so vigorously I flew through the air, knocked her off carpet and sent us both sprawling onto the sand. I sat up, barely stifling the cry of pain as I clutched my leg. Kayla was up a second after, pulling me towards her.

"I thought you were going to die. I'm so sorry I got cross with you this morning, you were just doing what was best for carpet." she cried. I pulled away from her and smiled at her though the pain.

"Kayla, calm down. I'm fine." I said hoarsely. Kayla smiled in relief, laughing slightly at her own actions. She took a deep breath as she stood up, offering me her hand. I gulped as I took it, not knowing how much damage had been done to my leg. I found out as soon as I stood up, the pain bringing me to a stop and forcing me to collapse. Kayla crouched down beside me.

"What's wrong?" she cried fearfully. I grunted as I sat up, my leg straight out in font of me.

"I don't know. There's a very intense pain in my leg starting at my knee." I explained, tears falling down my cheeks. Kayla nodded, looking down at my leg and placing her hands on my shin. I gulped as she slowly moved her hands towards my knee, knowing there was going to be more pain. Her hands reached my knee and she gently put pressure on where the knee joined to my leg. I screamed again, batting her hands away. She grimaced at my leg, not meeting my eyes.

"It's definitely dislocated. If we don't get back in the socket it will heal wrong and permanently damage your leg." she said gravely. I nodded knowing she was right. She knew more about this then I did so I readied myself for her treatment.

"Do what you have to do." I said grimly, gritting my teeth. Kayla looked a little surprised but nodded. She took from her pack a few bandages and wrapped half of them in a small ball before shoving it in my mouth. I looked at her confusedly.

"You'll realise what this is for soon enough." she said sorrowfully. I felt a little scared as she gripped my leg just below my knee. With one more apologetic look, Kayla wrenched my knee towards my body as hard as she could. My scream was muffled by the cloth as i bit down on it harshly and the pop that sounded from my knee as it was forced back into place. Kayla stroked my hair as we waited for the pain to ebb away. Kayla was watching me but would sometimes look away towards the sun. I felt drowsy, my eyelids heavy. Kayla sighed, looking back down at me.

"We'll set up camp for the night here. You and carpet both need your rest." she grumbled, standing up and getting a fire ready. I tried to sit up, my whole body fighting against my sudden weariness.

"I'm sorry Kayla." I mumbled weakly. She turned to me as flames started to lick at the wood pile. She smiled warmly and I suddenly felt much better as she lifted my head onto her lap, her fingers threading through my hair gently. I could feel the irony from last night creep up on me, along with the need to sleep.

"Don't worry Rali, none of this is your fault. You get some rest, your leg won't be good to walk on tomorrow or for a few days." she said softly. I nodded, already falling into a deep sleep.

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><p>I was started awake by something pressing against my temple. I looked over to see Kayla lying beside me, her finger gently tracing the counters of my face. I don't think she knew I was awake, as she kept going.<p>

"So different." she mumbled quietly. Different? She was speaking as if she'd never seen a male face before. How long had she been left without human contact? "It's been too long." she said sadly. I pretended to stay asleep, letting her hand travel from my face, down my neck and onto my chest, feeling every muscle. "So strong." she said as her hand skimmed over my heart. I didn't know what she was doing, but I couldn't deny that I was liking it. I felt the goosebumps rise as she continued to touch my chest and stomach. All to soon she took her hand away, laying down beside me. Subtly, hoping I wasn't giving myself away, I rolled over so that I was facing her and draped my arm over her stomach, pulling her closer against me. I don't know what it was about this girl that made me want to constantly be close to her, to keep her happy, but I liked the feeling I got from her when she smiled.

"Goodnight Kayla." I mumbled, smiling into her hair.

"Goodnight Rali." she replied in a smug voice. Crap.

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><p>There it is! Review!<p> 


	8. The Snake Man

Hey here's the update, sorry it's taking so long.

This sign - means the cut in line of the song.

Enjoy!

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><p>"Rali, Rali wake up." I groaned as Kayla shook my shoulder gently. I knew it was here, I could pick out her voice from over a hundred conversations.<p>

"No." I groaned, rolling away from her. That was a mistake because I rolled onto my bad leg. I leapt up, clutching it. Kayla gave me a sympathetic look.

"Leg?" she asked and I nodded. She sighed, bending down and slinging my arm over her shoulders. "Come on, we still have a long way to go." she grunted as she lifted me up. I did my best with my good leg, but it was hard not to be a bother with only one good working leg. Suddenly the ground was whisked away from my feet and I was laying on a purple floor with Kayla, looking like she'd just fallen fifty feat onto the rug.

"Carpet?" I stuttered. "You feeling better?" I asked. I was answered with a steep dive that left me and Kayla screaming until carpet pulled up before he crashed into the ground, stopping beside Kanjer. Kayla sat up, her hair mussed.

"That was not funny carpet!" she said sternly. I just chuckled, scooting forwards to let Kanjer on.

"But it was fun." I added, receiving a glare from Kayla. Carpet started to move again, taking us north as smoothly as he could. Me and Kayla chatted, laughing at jokes and telling stories. I liked spending time with her, she had some good stories. Kayla seemed to be having an easier time with opening up to me. She told me stories about storm season at the oasis, even telling me how scared she had been. Soon it was the evening and the sun was setting. The sky was orange with strokes of pink and gold. Kayla was staring up at the sky, wonderment in her eyes. I stared at her, the light from the sky turning her hair gold. This moment was perfect. It was still warm, the mood felt good and best of all, Kayla was happy. Her head was resting on my shoulder and my arm was wrapped around her waist as we leaned against Kanjer, a position that seemed so natural to us now.

"Do you know any songs Rali?" she asked randomly as she played with the cloth wrapped around my chest. I thought for a moment.

"Just a few, but only one stands out." I answered. Kayla looked at me hopefully and I sighed. "Alright I'll sing it to you, but you have to help with the girl part." I said. Kayla blushed but nodded. I took a breath as I readied myself for Kayla's criticism.

I can show you the world  
>Shining, shimmering, splendid<br>Tell me, princess, now when did  
>You last let your heart decide?<p>

I can open your eyes  
>Take you wonder by wonder<br>Over, sideways and under  
>On a magic carpet ride<p>

A whole new world  
>A new fantastic point of view<br>No one to tell us no  
>Or where to go<br>Or say we're only dreaming

I nodded at Kayla, signalling for her to get ready. She gulped but nodded as she got ready to sing.

A whole new world  
>A dazzling place I never knew<br>But when I'm way up here  
>It's crystal clear<br>That now I'm in a whole new world with you  
>-Now I'm in a whole new world with you-<p>

Her voice was amazing. She must have been trained by the oasis's most exotic jungle birds to be able to sing like that.

Unbelievable sights  
>Indescribable feeling<br>Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling  
>Through an endless diamond sky<p>

A whole new world  
>-Don't you dare close your eyes-<br>A hundred thousand things to see  
>-Hold your breath, it gets better-<br>I'm like a shooting star  
>I've come so far<br>I can't go back to where I used to be

A whole new world  
>-Every turn a surprise-<br>With new horizons to pursue  
>-Every moment red letter-<br>I'll chase them anywhere  
>There's time to spare<br>Let me share this whole new world with you

A whole new world  
>That's where we'll be<br>A thrilling chase  
>A wondrous place<br>For you and me

We were panting as we finished, the song really taking it out of us. Kayla turned her head to look at me.

"That was beautiful. Where did you learn that?" she asked me. I smiled sadly.

"My father taught it to me when I was younger. He said it was the first time he and my mother sang together, back when they were younger." I said, looking away. I could feel Kayla's eyes on me and I didn't like it. I turned back to her but she didn't even blink as she took my face in her hands.

"We will find a way to help them. I promise." she said, softly but confidently. I gave her the slightest of nods before bringing her closer to me again. Nothing needed to be said as Kayla slowly drifted off. "Carpet, you can stop anytime you feel tired." she muttered before she fell asleep. I sighed as I stared at her. Aww crap, I'm whipped.

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><p>"Where is that stupid snakes head?" Kayla yelled, scanning the ground from carpets back. I stared at her like she was crazy (Something I was getting more and more sure of)<p>

"Like I would really know! Like I've been here before!" I snapped at her. She glared at me and looked like she was going to start yelling, but a roar from Kanjer shut us both up and caused us to look to where he was. I gasped and Kayla gripped my hand as a giant rock in the shape of a snake head exploded up from the ground, striking right into the air where we were flying. Carpet veered sharply downwards, spinning out of control as our backs scraped against the snake statue. Kayla screamed again as she took an extra hard hit to her back. I pulled her under me, shielding her from the worst of the ride. Carpet crashed into the sand by the statue, flinging us from his back. I curled around Kayla, protecting her as best as I could. I grit my teeth as pain coursed through my leg, not wanting to worry Kayla. We stopped rolling, me on my back with Kayla gripping tightly to me. She lifted her head to meet my eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked shakily. I nodded, attempting to sit up. Kayla helped me before we both turned to the statue. It had stopped growing, looming over us. Its eyes were staring straight at us, glaring at us with pure malice. Kayla gripped my hand tightly but I was scared stiff.

Giant snake. Giant snake. Giant scary snake. All I could feel was a crippling fear as images of giant venomous snakes filled my vision. One in particular was sinking its fangs into Kayla's neck while she just lay there helplessly. Kayla's grip on my hand tightened as she turned me to look at her.

"It's ok Rali. This snake isn't real." she said calmly, wiping the sand from my face. I gulped and nodded, letting the feeling return to my legs as I stood up with Kayla's help. Together we struggled around to the front of the statue, right into the snakes eye-line. "Ok," Kayla panted. "Where's the giant snake man that will help us?" she asked. I looked around. He wasn't there, he had to be here!

"SHASTER!" I shouted with no response. "SHASTER PLEASE! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" the sand under the snakes head started to shift as the wind around us picked up, whipping the sand upwards. Slowly, a gold plated shape emerged from the sand. Soon it was completely free, standing over us with four muscled arms that were each holding a pointed sword. I was to busy staring at the snake neck and head, watching as it thrashed around. Soon it snapped onto us and I tried to back up, which only resulted in me falling over onto my butt-dragging Kayla with me.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" Shaster said in a low voice. I gulped, unable to make proper sound. "Well?"

"We are travellers who need your help." Kayla said shakily. I had never seen Kayla scared before, except for when we were riding on carpet but that was understandable.

"Why would you need my help? No one has needed my help in almost one hundred years." Shaster grunted. Kayla looked back at me, knowing I wanted to be the one to tell him.

"M-my parents are being h-held captive by a man possessed by Mafiar." I stuttered nervously. Shaster's snake eyes widened and he walked up to me, bending over me and staring at me right in my face. I started breathing heavily as he glared at me through hard gold eyes.

"Do you realise what you're saying boy?" he growled lowly. I nodded.

"It's the truth." I managed to say.

"Then you are on your own." he said, straightening up and walking back towards the snake statue. I shared a panicked look with Kayla before running towards Shaster.

"But you have to help. He's got my parents and Agrabah completely under his control. You could just come back to Agrabah and defeat him again-" Shaster whirling around to stare at me made me stop.

"I can not leave this statue boy! My immortality will not work outside this circle." he roared. Immortality?

"What are you talking about?" I asked. He sneered at me.

"If you are to ignorant to know child, I was mortally wounded in my last battle so I returned here. I cannot die in this circle, no matter my injuries. If I leave I will die. I'm sorry but I can't help you." he said lowly. I was breathing heavily, staring up at him.

"Please. You're my last hope." I whispered softly. Shaster's snake eyes softened as he stared at me.

"There may be one thing I can do. But you will have to pass a test to show me you are telling the truth." he said. I nodded.

"Anything." I said. He nodded at me, handing me a sword. I took it confusedly.

"You will have to fight and beat me in a duel." I felt confused.

"But what if I kill you?" I asked worriedly. He smirked.

"I cannot die in this circle remember." he said confidently.

"But what if Rali dies in the circle?" Kayla asked fearfully. Shaster gave her a funny look.

"Then he dies." Shaster said simply. I gulped loudly, not liking where this was going. "So which one wants to fight?" he asked. He was giving us a choice? I looked over at Kayla, who seemed to be thinking. She wasn't seriously thinking about doing this, it was my fight.

I limped a few steps forwards, facing Shaster.

"Shaster I-"

"-I will fight you." said Kayla, stepping in front of me. Shaster nodded. I reached forwards and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"What are you doing? There's no way you can do this." I whispered, glancing at Shaster's huge form. Kayla gave me a soft glare.

"I have a better chance then you right now. You can barely walk." she reasoned. She had me there, but I still wasn't going to let her do this.

"But what if you get hurt? There's no way I could make it back to the oasis alone." Kayla rolled her eyes at me.

"You can just ride carpet back but if you fight on that leg you might have that limp for the rest of your life, or worse." she said seriously. I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off again. "Rali, I want to do this for you." she said sincerely. I sighed, knowing that arguing was pointless. I nodded at her before drawing her into my arms. "If something goes wrong, promise me that you won't try to jump in and help. I don't want you getting hurt." she whispered quietly from my chest. I drew back from the hug enough to lean my forehead against hers.

"Ok, just promise me it won't go wrong." I mumbled before placing a gentle kiss on her nose, her cheeks and then her lips. Kayla responded, matching my gentle actions before I pulled away.

"What was that for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I smiled weakly at her, trying to look positive.

"Just in case something goes wrong. I wanted to make sure." I confessed quietly, keeping my eyes on hers as they brimmed with tears. She looked confused.

"What do you mea-?" she started but was interrupted by Shaster.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his swords ready. Kayla turned away from me and nodded at him. "You will have to step out of the circle boy." Shaster said, his snake eyes glaring at me. I nodded as well, gave Kayla one last squeeze then limped away out of the circle. I watched as Kayla took the sword Shaster had given me and started circling around, copping the snake mans actions. I started sweating as Shaster's eyes narrowed in concentration. Kayla looked a little nervous, watching him intently. I jumped when Shaster leaped forwards, bringing two of his swords down on Kayla. She lifted her sword, blocking the attack.

I watched, scared for Kayla as she fought against Shaster. My heart leapt at each swing of their swords, just wishing I could step in and help her. She couldn't die, she was the Kayla; the only person who liked me for me. She was also the only person I had ever kissed, had ever felt really happy around in a long time. She was the first person I shared my family song with, the song my father used to tell my mother he loved her. Did that mean I loved Kayla? Now that I think about it, being in love with her would explain a lot of things. Why I liked to watch her sleep, why I was willing to risk my own health by fighting Shaster with a bad leg…why I want her to come back to Agrabah with me and stay by my side for the rest of my life.

A cry brought me out of my revelation, only to spot Kayla, clutching her head. Shaster was frozen to the spot, watching with me as Kayla continued to claw at her face. Slowly her eyes started to turn a sickly yellow, blotting out all other colour. She was using her gift? Shaster ran at her, all four arms twirling his swords menacingly as he advanced on her. Faster then I could blink, Kayla leapt up, matching each sword strike with excellent form. How was she was doing this? How was she able to keep up with him. It hit me like a hundred tons of sand. She was fighting so well because she wasn't keeping up, she was ahead of him. She was using her powers to see what he was going to do and match his attack. It was working to, every strike was parried and she even sometimes countered, slicing her sword through the gaps in his armour. After a terrifying ten minutes Shaster and Kayla stood, facing each other. Both were panting, small cuts littering Kayla's arms and face. They weren't as deep as the wounds that were bleeding heavily through Shaster's armour, staining the sand at his feet.

Kayla looked wrong, her whole body sagging as the colour flickered from yellow to white in her eyes. Slowly she collapsed onto the sand, her sword rolling away from her hand.

"KAYLA!" I shouted, beginning to limp forwards.

"DO NOT ENTER THE CIRCLE! IF YOU DO SHE WILL DIE!" Shaster bellowed. I gulped and stopped, leaning on Kanjer. Shaster walked over to the still Kayla, looming over her with one of his swords pointed at her chest. I shut my eyes, feeling all my hope for our future die. When no scream sounded for five minutes, I opened my eyes. Shaster was still standing over Kayla, blocking me from seeing her. Just as I thought Kayla was dead, Shaster slowly started to lean to the side. When he finally tipped over, I gasped at the sword that was sticking out of Shaster's stomach through the gap in his armour where it all joined together. As soon as Shaster hit the ground I raced, as well as I could with my leg, to Kayla. I gripped her shoulders and propped her up against my chest, holding her gently as I checked over her wounds. She had a nasty one along her arm, scarring it around her elbow and midway down her arm. I ripped another patch off my trousers and bandaged her arm thoroughly. As I did so Shaster stood back up, pulling the sword from his stomach. I would probably have thrown up at the sickening sound if I wasn't so focused on Kayla.

"You never mentioned her having a gift like that." Shaster said darkly. I glared up at him.

"You're a ten foot snake man with huge muscles and four arms, I'd say she was pretty justified." I defended. Shaster chuckled.

"I was just going to say that she is quite remarkable. I can see why you feel for her the way you do." I blushed darkly, looking away.

"Is she going to be ok?" I asked, changing the subject. Shaster lowered his head to inspect her and I shivered uneasily at how close his snake head was to me.

"She will be fine. She just exhausted herself." he mumbled. I nodded, struggling to pick her up. Shaster understood that I was struggling with her, and gently took her from my arms and placing her on carpet. I limped over and was about to hop up, when I remembered why we had even come here.

"How do we defeat Mafiar?" I demanded. I was fed up with his aloofness, I just wanted to go and save my home. Shaster glared at me, obviously not liking my disrespect. He reached into one of his armour holes and brought out a small purple leather pouch. He threw it at me and I caught it, staring at it.

"That, if thrown over the host of Mafiar, will cause the spirit to leave the body and give him back his own." Shaster explained.

"If it would give him back his body then why don't I just kill Milon?" I asked.

"Because then the spirit will be released and will just find a new body. This way when you kill him he'll stay dead." I nodded, about to climb onto carpet when two clawed, metal hands grabbed me and lifted me up to meet Shaster's eyes. "I must warn you though, by giving him back his body, you will be giving him back his ability to transform." I grimaced but nodded again. Nothing was going to stop me trying to save my parents.

Shaster placed me on carpet and I urged him off, flying out towards the south, back home with Kayla sleeping beside me. One challenge down, three to go: saving Agrabah, telling Kayla how I feel about her…and asking her to come back home with me.

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><p>There you go. It might take a while to update. I have a few other stories in my mind.<p>

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	9. Love And Heartbreaking Goodbyes

Here's my latest chapter.

Enjoy!

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><p>I waited until nightfall for Kayla to wake up, just watching her sleep against Kanjer's soft stomach, her head against my shoulder again. Everything about her was perfect, her hair, her eyes and even the little scar on her forehead. I couldn't dream of finding someone better then Kayla to help me, to become my friend.<p>

For once it wasn't me that wanted to cuddle again, Kayla was the one who shifted over to me in her sleep as I rested next to her. I wouldn't even dream of objecting to Kayla's soft side. Sure we had kissed before, twice in fact, and all I knew from those was that I was completely in love with her and was very bad at hiding it. I heard a groan beside me and watched as Kayla slowly opened her eyes, green gems staring straight at me.

"Hey." she breathed, a gentle smile on her face. I smiled back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked. She grinned at me.

"Like I just got hit by a speeding cart then got paid one hundred gold coins to keep quiet." she laughed. I chuckled, savouring her laughter. As she stopped, her eyes turned curious. "What are you looking at?" she asked. I just smiled and shook my head.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." I mumbled. Kayla shrugged, snuggling back into my side. After a while of sitting in silence, I started another conversation. "Where did you get that scar?" I asked. Kayla looked up at me, a curious glint in her eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked back. I shrugged, copying her. She sighed. "My first year at the oasis…I tried to climb up a tree to get some mangos when I fell out and hit my head on a rock. I woke up beside my cave and that's how I found it." she explained. I tilted my head to the side as I ran my thumb over it repeatedly. "Why do you like it so much?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow. I smiled, leaning down to kiss it again.

"It's your only flaw." I whispered in her ear. Kayla sighed, pulling away from our little embrace and shifting over to sit on one of carpets corners. She was silent as she looked over the edge. I wanted to go and comfort her, but she seemed to be thinking. Slowly, she unwrapped the gauze I had bandaged her arm with and stared at the wound. It had healed over and was now a slightly swelled red line that would soon be barely anything.

"I don't feel flawless." she mumbled sadly. "I feel…weak, different." I think that last part was meant to be to herself but I still heard her. I had never heard her sound so fragile before.

Snaking my arms around her waist, I spun her around to face me.

"I don't think you're weak at all." I said firmly, staring right into her eyes. "I think you're flawless because you are the most beautiful, toughest and smartest girl I have ever met." I said honestly. Her eyes watered at my kind words and she collapsed forwards onto my chest, curling against me as she sobbed quietly. I felt a little awkward, not at Kayla's hug, but at her crying. Kayla never cried.

"You can't mean that." I lifted her head to speak directly to her but she shook her head furiously. "Please don't, I'm not used to being treated like this. Ever since my parents kicked me out for having my powers." she mumbled. I stroked her hair, refusing to let her think so lowly of herself.

"You deserve to be seen as the beautiful oasis princess you are, and your powers are amazing. They should be treasured, not ashamed of." I murmured into her hair, placing a kiss on her temple.

"Princess's marry prince's." she murmured back. I froze my actions staring down at her. She lifted her head to stare back, looking as if she'd just seen a ghost. What she didn't know was that I had never felt happier in my entire life. Gently, taking her face in my hands, I leant forwards and pressed my lips to hers. I could taste Kayla's tears that had run over her lips but it only drove me on, kissing them away. It took a moment for Kayla to kiss me back, threading her fingers into my hair and gripping it tightly. I gently pushed her until her back hit the carpet, crawling over her and re-attaching my lips to hers. She groaned with pleasure, one of her hands running over the muscles in my shoulders and back. I moaned quietly at the contact, leaving her lips and kissing down to her neck. This was more then we had ever shared together and I was loving it. I could feel Kayla tense under me, clutching one of my arms tightly. Carefully I pulled away, placing one final kiss on her nose before going to lean back against Kanjer and pulling her with me.

We lay against him for a while, breathing heavily.

"Why did you do that?" Kayla finally asked. I gulped, blushing heavily.

"Because I really wanted to." I said sheepishly, not looking at her. Kayla snuggled deep into my side, kissing my shoulder.

"Good, because I really wanted you to." she mumbled before she fell asleep. I wouldn't be surprised if I was up all night, feeling so high that it would take a while for me to remember my name.

I think carpet flew all night because, when I finally managed to fall asleep, I woke up to see the oasis's outline in the distance. Kayla was already awake, staring at the outline.

"We should be reaching it at around sunset." she said, sounding oddly cold. I nodded, attempting to reach out and touch her, hoping to re-create what we had last night. But she shied away from me, not even giving me an explanation. She was silent for the whole day, never taking her eyes from the oasis. As the sun started to sink below some of the higher dunes, Kayla finally turned to face me.

"Land in the oasis." she ordered. I felt a confused expression seep onto my face.

"Why? We're making great time." I asked. Her glare was enough to make me grab carpet and land him by the sparkling water. Kayla hopped off the carpet, taking a few steps towards the jungle. I hobbled after her, having a little trouble with my still injured leg. Kayla stopped close to the edge, not turning to face me.

"Rali…I can't go any further." she said quietly, almost hoping I wouldn't hear.

"Why?" I chocked out, feeling my world come crashing to the ground. She wasn't supposed to leave, we were supposed to do this together. We were going to come out as champions and I was going to ask her to stay with me, share my life and love with me.

"I can't go back to Agrabah." she said, her voice wobbling.

"Why?" I demanded, my devastation being replaced by anger. Kayla swirled round and I could see that tears were already running down her cheeks.

"Because I haven't been in contact with other humans for over ten years, Rali! I can't go back to them just like that!" she cried at me in a broken voice. Ten years? She said it was six.

"Kayla, however long its been for you, please come with me. I'll take care of you, I promise." I begged, taking her hands in mine. She wrenched them away, glaring at me.

"Like you could understand! Just leave Rali!" she screamed before making a run for the jungle. Ignoring the pain in my leg I leaped at her, tackling her into the sand and pinning her down under me.

"Why can't you just trust me?" I cried at her. Kayla didn't reply, just turned her head away. Knowing words wouldn't work anymore, I did the only thing I could think of. I took her chin in my hands and crushed my lips to hers. Kayla responded immediately…and she was amazing. Kissing an angry Kayla was like surviving a sand storm. She pushed her whole body against mine, biting down on my bottom lip. I groaned loudly, trying to keep my focus on the situation. I tried to pull back but Kayla wouldn't have it, gripping my jacket tightly. After a few more minutes of some of the best kissing of my life, Kayla pulled back, panting while staring right into my eyes.

"I love you." I whispered to her gently. "Please don't go." I begged, already feeling my tears build.

"I didn't ask for your love Rali, please just let me go." she pleaded back.

"I can't." I chocked out. Kayla gave me a sad smile, reaching up to stroke my face. I leaned into her touch, placing a small kiss on her wrist. That hand moved up, sifting through into my thick brown hair. Suddenly that hand gripped the back of my jacket and threw me over her, landing on my back. I gasped for breath, my vision blurred as a blotchy shape leapt up from the ground and dashed in to the jungle. I scrabbled up but there was no way I was going to be able to catch her.

"KAYLA!" I shouted after her. Birds fled from the trees at my heartbroken cry. I collapsed to my knees, ignoring the pain in my left leg.

Kanjer came closer to me, nuzzling my side with his large head. Not even his comfort could fill the hole that had been ripped into my soul. Slowly, my body numb, I hobbled over to carpet, using Kanjer as a crutch. He helped me on before hopping up onto carpet behind me. As carpet slowly started to head back to Agrabah I looked back at the oasis, back where Kayla would forever live in sadness and solitude.

"Goodbye Kayla…I will always love you, no matter how much you don't want me to." I mumbled sadly, feeling the tears finally start to slip down my cheeks.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it and I hope it wasn't to sappy.<p>

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	10. Final Battle And The Future

Here is the last chapter of of A Prince Named Rali! Hope you like it.

Enjoy!

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><p>All I could think about on the way back to the city was that Kayla was gone. She didn't care that I loved her, didn't care that I was probably going to die facing Mafiar. Kanjer had tried comforting me, nuzzling my side but it didn't help. As the city walls flew under us as we skimmed over the roofs of the buildings I kept focused on the palace. If I was going to die tonight then I was going to go down fighting. Carpet came up to the thrown room window and I prepared myself for what I was about to see. I peered through and felt relief wash through me at the sight of my parents. They were still alive but chained to the wall. Milon was sitting in my dads throne, munching on a chicken leg. That's my dads throne! Not his!<p>

"You stay here but cover me if it gets bad." I whispered to carpet before I carefully climbed through the window, leaving carpet behind. Kanjer followed me and we quickly hid behind one of the giant pillars. I watched Milon, waiting for him to slip up. As soon as he turned his head away, I dashed out from behind the pillar, Shaster's pouch in my hand. I heard my parents gasps as I leaped onto Milon's back. He screamed as I gripped his greasy hair with one hand and dumped the contents of the pouch onto his head. I jumped off him as he started to lurch and spasm. I ran over to my parents, trying vainly to break the locks around their wrists.

"Dad, Mom. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you earlier." I cried. Dad caught the hand that was trying to undo his wrist brace.

"I'm sorry son. I shouldn't have tried to push you into something you're not meant to be. I for one should know how being yourself is all you can be." he said. I nodded.

"Thanks dad. Well myself is about to see if they can face a monster." dad looked scared and mom looked confused. It's only when we all heard cackling did I turn around. Where Milon had stood was a tall skinny man with pale skin, a long face and jet black hair. He wore long black and dark blue robes.

"He looks exactly the same as…" my mom started before a sob escaped her.

"Yes, my son did have to get his handsome looks from somewhere didn't he?" Mafiar gloated. "Now lets see if I have the full package." he mused before he curled into himself. My heartbeat sped up as he started to grow, his back arching before it broke through his robes. Brown fur sprouted up from his back, covering his whole body. A sickening cracking sound could be heard as I watched all the bones in his body break and reform him into the beast. His hands and feet turned into clawed paws while his face shaped into something that looked like a cross between a bear and a wolf.

As he finished transforming I gulped, edging over to a pile of gold. There was a sword laying among the gold and I picked it up, pointing it out in front of me as I stood in front of my parents. Mafiar looked over himself, flexing his clawed hands. He started laughing.

"This is more like it. Oh the things I will be able to do now. Thank you young one, as a reward your death will be quick." he laughed, advancing on me. I was breathing heavily as he came closer and I did the only thing I could think of. I ran as best as I could and leaped at his stomach. All that happened was a clawed paw swiping down and batting me away as if I were a bug. I landed on the ground heavily on my side. I coughed as I struggled to stand up while Mafiar stormed up to me. A black and orange striped blur leaped through the air and latched onto the beasts arm. Kanjer bit down on his arm while ripping holes in it with his claws. Mafiar roared in pain before throwing Kanjer off. As soon as his back hit the floor Kanjer was up, standing by me and hissing dangerously. I rolled over to face him.

"Protect mom and dad." I ordered him. He growled unsurely before he slunk away to stand before my parents. I struggled back up onto my feet and faced Mafiar, wielding my sword.

"Come on young prince, fight me!" he cried as he ran at me. I tensed, ready to fight, but something stopped me. The sight of a monster charging at someone only reminded me of Kayla. I felt my strength ebb away as heartache took over. Mafiar stopped in front of me, his furry chest so close I could smell the putrid aroma that surrounded him.

"Aww what's wrong young prince?" he mocked. "No will to fight?" before I could answer a clawed fist struck under my chin, sending me flying to the ground. I cried out in pain. "Let me knock some sense into you!" he growled before hitting me again and sending me into the wall. I groaned as I got back up, my leg feeling as if it was on fire. "I wonder what's wrong little one. Is it that I have your family captive?" he mocked as he took a few steps closer. I grimaced at him, the mention of family only making it worse as I thought about the future me and Kayla could have had.

"Don't you think that I would try harder?" I grunted at him. He narrowed his eyes.

"Ok, but something stirred in you when I said family. Perhaps it's a girl?" he asked and I froze. I couldn't take someone mentioning Kayla. Mafiar smirked and suddenly a clawed hand was around my throat, lifting me up. I gagged as I tried to breath but was slowly chocking in Mafiar's death grip. "Well if she doesn't care enough to come with you, then I'm sure she won't care if you die!" he roared, slamming me against the ground before tightening his grip. This was it, I was going to die. I shut my eyes as I prepared for blackness to fall on me.

A scream ripped through the air and the pressure on my neck disappeared.

"Well this girl isn't going to let him die!" Kayla? The familiar voice made my eyes snap open. I scrambled into a sitting up position to see Mafiar clutching his arm, a dagger probing out of his furry arm. I whipped my head round to the window to see my beautiful oasis princess standing on the window sill, dagger in hand.

"Kayla!" I shouted, getting up and hobbling over to her. She jumped from the window sill and ran over to me, catching me as I stumbled. "I thought you weren't coming back." I whispered, taking her face in my hands. She had tears in her eyes.

"Well when a purple rug kidnaps you and shows you how badly you're doing, I have no choice but to step in." she laughed. I smiled at her, despite our situation. Just as I was leaning in to kiss her, Mafiar gripped me around my waist, his claws digging into my stomach and side. I cried out in pain, struggling in his grip.

"Ah so you have your fight back. I'll be sure to kill her first." Mafiar growled. I struggled harder against him as he leaned down and grabbed Kayla by her hair.

"Don't touch her!" I yelled, landing a well aimed kick on his nose. He screamed in pain, flinging us both aside. I cried out in pain as I landed on my front. Kayla crawled over to me, gently tracing my wounds with her back to Mafiar. I watched as the beast lumbered over to us, his eyes glowing with fury. He stopped behind Kayla, his claws screeching on the marble floor as he raised one paw. I quickly grabbed Kayla's arm and pulled her down, rolling over and shielding her under me. I felt three claws rake across my skin before the back of his fist forced me away from Kayla and across the room, landing across my dads throne. I heard a crack as my left leg took the worst of the fall and I screamed in pain. That's definitely broken. I could hear Mafiar panting as he stood over Kayla.

"Your loved one has caused me enough trouble. I offered him a chance for a quick death but he has vexed me." I heard him say before footsteps echoed around the room.

"Don't hurt him!" Kayla shouted and I heard her start to run. I twisted around to see her running towards me, her dagger ready.

"Kayla don't!" I cried. I couldn't let her get hurt while I could help it. I stared at her, then darted my eyes to Mafiar. She seemed to catch on as she readied herself, gripping the blade of her dagger between her finger tips. I took a hold of the sword handle at my waist, a few splinters of blade still left from the sword that had once been there. Mafiar stopped in front of me.

"Watch girl as I kill him in front of you and his family." Mafiar laughed, raising a clawed paw as he leaned over me.

"NOW!" I cried, thrusting my body upwards and driving the broken sword into his heart. At the same time Kayla threw her dagger. I watched as it landed perfectly between Mafiar's shoulders. Mafiar let out a scream, clutching the sword handle and pulling it from his chest. He staggered backwards, his feet fumbling as he collapsed onto his back. His breath left him and the evil light died in his eyes.

My relieved sigh turned into a cry of pain as I pulled myself off the throne, collapsing onto the ground.

"Rali!" Kayla cried, falling to her knees beside me and lifting my head into her lap. I smiled up at her, never thinking I would get to see her beautiful face. "I can't believe you did that." she said, referring to my back. I gave her a pained smile.

"I couldn't let him hurt you." I said, my voice strained. She cracked a smile. "Help me up." I groaned. She complied and with a little effort I was standing. The cuts on my back stung but they would heal. Kayla helped support my leg as we walked over to my parents. She set me down on the steps to the throne as she finished my job on the locks. As soon as they were free my parents rushed over to me, my mother wrapping my head in her arms.

"Oh Rali we thought we'd never see you again!" she gushed, rocking me back and forth.

"Mom." I groaned, pulling away from her. Kayla could be watching. I looked around to see her gone. "Kayla?" I asked. She was no where to be seen. "No. No!" I cried, ignoring the pain that coursed all around my body as I stood up and limped out the room. Kanjer followed me and I'm pretty sure my parents were to. Soon I was hobbling along, using Kanjer as a crush as I searched for Kayla. "KAYLA! KAYLA WHERE ARE YOU?" I cried. She couldn't leave, not again. I heard a sound come from a room off to the right and noticed it was my room. The door was slightly open and I pushed it open the whole way to see a shape standing on my balcony, staring out at a shape in the desert sands.

"I'm surprised you found this room, considering it's mine." I said as I limped over to Kayla. She turned to me, tears in her eyes.

"I just wanted to try and find a place to think." she said in a quiet voice.

"You still want to go back?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know. I love you, but I can't live the life everyone will want me to if I stay here. I'm not a royal girl, I'm a wild girl." she said, emotion lacing her every word.

She loved me.

I drew her into my arms, and brought her closer to me. I kissed her gently, pouring every ounce of love I had into it. She responded, her fingers going into my hair. I pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"I love you too and I just want you to be happy." I mumbled sadly. Kayla nodded at me but didn't move. We stayed there, staring out at the desert. It was dark, the sky was clear and the stars were out. I stroked her hair gently while I leaned on Kanjer.

A throat clearing behind us made us turn around. My parents were standing there, watching us.

"Who are you?" my father asked.

"Kayla." she answered, staying close to my side.

"Kayla, did you help my son?" he asked and she nodded. "And now you want to leave because you fear captivity?" Kayla looked confused. "We heard you talking." dad answered. She nodded again. "Kayla, if my past has taught me anything then you should know that Jasmine and I would never force you to stay here if you didn't want to. If you and my son want to leave the palace at any time, then I shouldn't stop you." my eyes widened as I stared at my dad.

"Really, you'd be ok with me going out whenever I want to?" I asked. Dad smiled.

"Street rats gotta be let loose to scurry every once and a while." he said with a chuckle. I grinned but Kayla just looked confused. I just pulled her into a kiss.

"You can come and go as you please, just as long as you promise to take me with you whenever you do." I explained. Her eyes lit up and she threw her arms around me tightly.

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><p>A few months had passed since Mafiar was defeated. Everyday Kayla and I would leave the palace to either explore the city or ride carpet to the oasis and spend the day just lounging there. We had our own room in the palace, it being us sharing mine. My father didn't really approve of this but I couldn't care. I respected Kayla far to much to take advantage of her…unless she wanted me to of course. I still had a slight limp to my step, a side effect of having my leg broken and dislocated at the same time but my dad said that should heal soon.<p>

I was walking down the halls with Kanjer beside me, having just come back from dinner. Kayla hadn't joined us, saying she felt a little tired. I opened the door to our room. As usual she was standing at the balcony watching the stars while staring at the outline of the oasis. I limped over to her and slipped my arm around her waist.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, kissing the side of her neck. She giggled slightly.

"Tired." she answered simply. Absentmindedly she started to fiddle with the gold ring that was wrapped around her ring finger. My eyes flittered down to her hand and smiled. Taking her hand in mine, I lifted it to my lips, kissing the ring lightly before entwining our fingers together, letting my own ring glint in the light that bathed us from behind. Kayla smiled, suppressing her giggles as her eyes rested on the symbol that joined us as one. Without thinking, I shifted behind her and wrapped both my arms around her waist, resting my hands on her stomach. Kayla rolled her eyes. Every chance I got I would worm my way into this position. With a light giggle Kalila spoke.

"Rali I already told you, I don't know yet. It will be at least another couple months before it would start to show, so don't even ask." I chuckled lightly.

"I'm sorry Kayla, I'm just excited." Kayla turned her head and looked into my warm brown eyes.

"I know, me too. But remember it might not work." I chuckled again as I lowered my lips to her ear. I kissed it as I whispered.

"If it doesn't work then we'll try again." this time Kayla laughed as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and smiled at me. I smiled back, taking her hand and leading her back inside. "Come on. If you want to go to the oasis tomorrow then you should rest." I said as we climbed into our bed. Kayla sighed but snuggled into me.

"How could you turn me so soft." she mumbled sleepily. I grinned, wrapping my arms around her.

"It's all in the eyes." I answered. She chuckled before drifting off to sleep. I stayed up a little longer holding the girl I love (and our possible baby) securely in my arms.

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><p>There you go.<p>

Review with love!


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